Semi-Charmed Kind of Life
by Aeliel
Summary: When Caroline's reclusive Great Uncle dies under suspicious circumstances and leaves behind a Bed and Breakfast worthy farmhouse, she decides a change of scene is exactly what she needs. She never meant for her fresh start to create so much drama! AU Human Steroline and Delena. Fixed continuity errors and expanded chapters!
1. Chapter 1

Hi Everyone! Once again I am attempting a rewrite on this story to make it better for my followers. My biggest struggle is chapter length, so in an attempt to make the chapters longer, I have combined a few and expanded on others.

Please, Please, Review. I thrive off of your comments, good and bad. I generally ignore flames, but yes I do take your input into account regarding the plot and my writing style. I love reading comments! They are what make doing this worth it.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries, however the story itself is all mine!**

Caroline stared at the blinking line on her computer, quietly signaling that she should be transcribing the voice notes she had been given that morning, instead of daydreaming about running through the office screaming at everyone and everything.

Sighing, she rewound the tape for a second time and focused on the conversation taking place over her headphones. Architects were so infuriating. Why was it that Walter couldn't spell out the name of the person he was speaking with, but words like _upright_ needed special emphasis? She glared at her fingers as they flew over the keyboard, thinking about all the things she would rather be doing instead.

The phone on her desk lit up with an incoming call and she pressed pause on the recording to answer it. Caroline attempted to page one of the intern's at their desk before realizing they had stepped out of the office. She took the message and groaned internally. Beth was glaring at her from across the room, and she knew she was in for another patronizing lecture about paying attention to the comings and goings of the people who worked on their floor.

The end of the day couldn't come fast enough.

Caroline Forbes was everything that was expected of a true Southern belle. 5'8" with blonde hair and baby blue eyes, she had been involved in everything she could get her hands on in high school. She told everyone that it was for her college transcripts, but it was mostly because she loved the attention. Why else would she have been driven to be Cheer Captain, Miss Mystic Falls, and head all the committees she had championed? This did seem to give people cause to stereotype her and, even though she had graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania School of Business, she found it hard to be taken seriously.

It had been even harder when her mother had been diagnosed with cancer and Caroline had moved home to Mystic Falls, Virginia in order to care for her. The only available well paying and flexible position she could find was her current administrative assistant job. It had been hard to reconcile her new life with the one she had always planned. She kept the black Manolo Blahnik "high powered executive pumps" her father had bought her as a Graduation gift, in a special box in her closet. One day they would help her rock the business world, but for now they were lovingly stored away.

Glancing at the clock on her desk, she stretched and started gathering her things. Beth had disappeared and Caroline planned to escape for the weekend without having to speak to her. She had a dinner date, and refused to have her boss put her in an even more foul mood before she left. That could wait for Monday morning.

She made her way across the town green and headed for the Mystic Grill, heels clicking across the familiar paving stones; her hair bouncing across her back and shoulders. The air was fragrant, smelling of spring. Pink, Purple, and Yellow Tulips, recently planted by the Mystic Falls Garden Club, lined the walkways of the town. Blooms on the cherry trees promised to burst open with the colors of the season as their green branches swayed in the breeze. If she had to pick a season to call her favorite, spring and it's promises of new beginnings, would be it.

Waiving to her date, Caroline picked up her tempo and crossed the street.

"Hi Bonnie!" She chirped, reaching out to give her best friend a hug. Bonnie Bennett and Caroline had been friends since they could remember. Complete opposites of each other in appearance, with Bonnie's dark hair and Caribbean skin, they both had the same interests and had co-led the Mystic High Cheerleaders together. Even though they had gone to separate colleges, they had remained close. Their bond had become even stronger when Caroline had moved back after her mother had gotten sick. She didn't know what she would have done if Bonnie had already moved away from their hometown.

"Hey Care. I got your text about really needing to vent. Is Beth being an evil bitch again?" Bonnie asked sympathetically. Caroline groaned.

"The most evil. I can never do anything right." She whined. Her dark haired friend nodded.

"I thought she called you her favorite." She implored as they were seated at a table near the window.

"She never said favorite, she just said I was one of the most competent people she had hired. But if that's how she treats people she likes, I completely sympathize with the poor souls that quit before I started." The blonde replied sighing.

Their waiter appeared at the table and Caroline grinned.

"Hi Matt."

"Hi Bonnie, hey Care. How are you today?" Matt asked, running a hand through his sandy blonde hair. The late afternoon sun glinted gold across some of the strands.

"In need of significant amounts of wine, but otherwise alright. You always know the best vintages Matt, I'll leave it up to your discretion" Caroline replied. He nodded and left.

"Significant amounts of wine? She really pulled an attitude today didn't she?" Bonnie joked. Caroline groaned.

"I don't know how much more I can take, Bon. It's torture. I feel like I am wasting my talents." The blonde remarked. Matt returned with their wine and Caroline took a massive gulp. Seeing the look on her friends face, she colored slightly and set the glass down. Thankfully, Matt was flagged by another table before he could say anything. She didn't need yet another lecture today, and she knew that Bonnie wouldn't say anything about her alcohol intake.

"How can a man's eyes be that blue? It should be a crime." Bonnie moaned, watching Matt walk away. She glanced at Caroline, who's eyebrows were drawn up on her forehead inquiring. Bonnie shook her head. "I don't want to marry him, but I can still look." Both girls giggled.

"What am I going to do Bonnie?" Caroline asked, sighing.

"Don't take this the wrong way Care, but why are you still in Mystic Falls?" Bonnie questioned, swirling the wine in her glass. Caroline frowned.

"What do you mean why am I still here? I'm here because this is my home." She retorted.

"You're here because you're scared. You're here because it's easy." Bonnie countered.

"Mom needs me."

"Your mom has been cancer free for a year now Caroline. She's doing fine. I love you hun, but this place is killing you. Are you still hiding those shoes in your closet?" Bonnie asked casually.

"Ok you have a point." Caroline admitted, setting down her glass. "I could use a change of scene. Something new."

"You mean someone. Where is that loser Tyler anyway?"

"Somewhere in South America. Last I heard he was base jumping with his Frat brothers. They were having a reunion." Caroline muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Dump him Care. He so doesn't deserve you." Bonnie stated, sipping her wine. "Come stay at my house tonight. We'll have a total girls night; drink wine, eat chocolate, and gossip. It'll be fun! We can brainstorm ideas about how to get your pumps out of the closet."

"Like old times?" Caroline replied. "Alright, girls night it is. And don't think I'm ignoring how you looked at Matt Donovan. We are definitely going to be talking about that."

"Please, I caught you watching him walk away too." Bonnie replied with an incredulous look that sent Caroline into peels of laughter. This was what she needed. A best friend and wine always did the trick.

"Guilty." Caroline remarked, smiling. She and Matt had dated briefly, and though they hadn't proven to be a great match, she had to admit that the sight of his toned biceps and firm backside still made her heart race. Matt Donovan was every girls All-American fantasy.

"I'm going to text Elena. If we are having a girls night, she should be in on it too." Bonnie stated, pulling out her phone and snapping Caroline out of her racy thoughts. Her manicured fingers fluttered over the phone as she typed out the memo to their friend.

"Tell her she's responsible for bringing the snacks. I think I still have a bottle of Midus left from our last night in."

"You mean the stuff that had us prank calling the fire department looking for strippers? I think that bottle is better left untouched." Bonnie replied, her eyebrows creeping into her bangs. Caroline laughed.

"What's a party without a little merry making?" She asked her dark haired friend.

"Merry Making my ass, your mom threatened to let them fine us for harassment and take us to jail." Bonnie retorted. Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Mom threatened to throw me in jail for disorderly conduct when I shut a door in her face during an argument. She's just blowing steam. Besides, one of the guys tried to ask you out later when they found out who we were didn't he?" The blonde pointed out, smirking.

"Point taken, but I'm still bringing my own bottle tonight." Bonnie answered, trying to hide her blush.

"More fun for me." Caroline smiled mischievously and picked up her menu.

 **...X...**

The door clicked softly as it latched behind her. Fumbling, Caroline tried to put her keys into her clutch, and closed her eyes briefly. The world still felt slightly tilted to her, and she thanked whatever deity happened to be listening that she didn't have any place to be that morning. A little more sleep and a hot shower, not to mention a strong cup of coffee, would be a necessity before she could drag her brain out of its lingering drunken stupor.

It had been an enjoyable girls night. Elena, the third part of their trio, had joined them at the restaurant after a quick text from Bonnie. As per the rules that they had established when they were in Middle School, sleepovers were a sacred event. The guidelines had morphed over the years, adding and subtracting items as they grew.

Wine was a must have; snuck from their parents pantries when they were in high school and later purchased when they became old enough to do so. Bonnie had read somewhere that it was the beverage of choice for sophisticated ladies, and so it was written into the bylines as a non-negotiable item. Caroline still had the "contract", though it had become lost in her closet sometime since moving back to Mystic Falls.

The three of them had stayed up late into the night, chatting about boys and jobs. Elena had a new online friend. She was always meeting new people through her writing. Caroline envied her sometimes for her openness and ability to float through so many different social circles. Everyone loved Elena, and it was, as always, completely effortless on her part. Bonnie had pushed for details when she found out that it was a guy, but Elena had been avoidant, and eventually the talk moved to other topics.

Topics like the never present Tyler.

She really hadn't wanted to talk about him. It was a confusing topic for her, and one that she was happy to avoid when possible. Caroline knew she should end it. She had been dwelling on it for months, but it had just been easier to ignore that there even was a problem.

Since their families were both considered town founders, they had known each other most of their lives. The summer before senior year of college they had a chance encounter at a function and decided to start dating. There had been some fun times for a while, but after graduation Tyler had changed. Caroline was fairly sure that he was having trouble coming to terms with the responsibilities of adulthood. While she was back at home and completely overwhelmed with taking care of her mother, Tyler had run off with some of his rich friends to play jet-setter.

She still held onto some hope that he would walk back into town and become an adult, but after a year of playing "where in the world is Tyler Lockwood" she realized she needed to move on. There were other men out there that would gladly enjoy her company and she was done feeling unimportant. She needed to shake off Mystic Falls, and this would be the first step.

Caroline wandered into the kitchen, embracing the smell of coffee as it hit her nose. She was startled to see her father sitting at the kitchen table talking to her mother. The two of them had separated in Caroline's Sophomore year of High School, and their subsequent divorce had been hard for Caroline. Even harder still when she learned that it was because her father was gay.

Processing what that meant for the prospect of putting her family back together was perhaps the hardest part. While some kids were at least awarded the fantasy of their parents realizing their "mistake" and becoming a family again, Caroline was left with the hard truth that her dad just really wasn't all that into her mom. And never really had been after all.

Bill Forbes had been surprisingly helpful through Liz's cancer ordeal, but he had recently moved to South Carolina with his partner and hadn't been around much. Caroline was more dismayed that he had arrived without first letting her know he was coming. Despite everything that had happened to their family, he still maintained that she was his baby girl. He smiled when he noticed her moving toward them.

"Good Morning Princess." He greeted, standing up from the table. Caroline let him pull her into a hug and stepped backward toward the coffee maker. Blessedly, there was still enough for a full cup left in the bottom of the glass pot.

"Morning Daddy. I'm surprised to see you here." She remarked. Her tone came across colder than she had meant it to and she saw him register her mood.

"Caroline, I'm sorry I didn't call. I didn't know I was coming until last night." Her father apologized sighing.

"Did something happen?" Caroline asked, relenting when she saw the droop of his shoulders, and carried her coffee mug over to the table to join them.

"Your Great Uncle Calvin passed away." He replied. "He was your Nana's brother. Unfortunately, since he never married and didn't have any immediate family, I was appointed as the executor of his will."

"Your father needs a place to stay while he works through the details with the lawyer." Her mother interjected. "I offered for him to stay here so you can spend some time with him."

"Where do you have to go?"

"Uncle Calvin had a farm near Richmond. It was a beautiful place if I remember correctly, though I'm sure it probably needs some repairs before it can be sold." He explained. Finishing his coffee, he glanced down at his watch. "Well pumpkin, I'm sorry but I need to get going. I have an appointment with the lawyer soon and since he is doing me the favor of meeting on a Saturday, I don't want to be late."

Bill pushed back from the table and stood up, grabbing the briefcase beside him. Caroline reached up and hugged him, planting a quick kiss on his cheek. He had more grey in his hair than the last time she had seen him, she realized.

"I'm glad that you are going to stay for a little bit." She remarked.

"We will spend time together while I am here. I promise." He smiled, the lines around his eyes deepening, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Richmond is only an hour away. I will make sure that we have at least one proper father/daughter dinner while I am in town."

Caroline walked him out the door and waved as he got into his Jetta. Her mom joined her to watch his car disappear around the corner.

"Well I had better get ready for work." Liz announced, moving back inside.

Caroline considered going into the house, but decided that between the warm air and the growing sunlight she would rather take a walk. She had already waved any possibility of more sleep aside, and staying inside the house on such a beautiful spring day seemed a waste. Grabbing her purse off the table in the entryway, she pulled the front door closed behind her.

She didn't really have a specific destination in mind, but her feet decided to carry her next door. It could have been the subtle swaying of the porch swing that had caught her attention and directed her to move toward it, or the years of heading in that direction whenever she was looking for someone to talk to. Whatever it was she found herself directly in front of the Gilbert house. Elena was pushing the old wooden swing in a slow, oblivious rhythm while typing on her laptop. A small smile flirted across her face as she stared at the screen. Caroline coughed softly, causing her startled friend to slam the laptop shut.

"Mystery guy?" Caroline asked, walking up the short staircase to sit beside her friend.

"It's nothing really. He was just voicing his opinion on my recent column." Elena replied, clearing her throat.

"Is he cute?" Caroline pressed with a sly smile.

"Yes." Elena blushed slightly.

"Would I know him?" Caroline asked, curiously.

"No. Honestly I don't really know much about him myself. We haven't gotten to that stage yet." She explained, shrugging. "And he's just a friend Care. There's no reason to exchange personal information."

"Right." The blonde remarked, nodding. "Just a friend."

"I saw your dad leaving." Elena commented, deliberately changing the subject and settling back into the swing. "Why didn't you mention he was visiting?"

"Because I didn't know." Caroline answered, deflating. "He's on his way to Richmond to take care of my Great Uncle's estate. I guess he has to enforce Uncle Calvin's will."

"I'm sorry. Did you know your uncle well?" Her friend asked gingerly, putting a hand on Caroline's arm. Elena had lost her parents in a car accident when they were in high school. She understood loss better than anyone Caroline had ever met.

"I didn't know him that well. I think I received a card or two for special events, like graduation, but if I ever met him in person I don't remember. He was a bit of a recluse"

Elena nodded and tugged at a split end, ripping the bottom of the strand of hair as she pulled.

"You know I'm not going to let you off the hook about this guy right? You haven't dated since you and Matt broke up three years ago." Caroline winked at her, "You deserve someone who makes you smile like you were when I got here."

"I didn't think you would." Elena replied laughing. "How about you just give it a little time before you push too hard though ok?"

"Fine." Caroline answered. "but I only push because I love you."

Elena pulled her friend into a hug and grinned.

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

For anyone that is curious, Midus is a type of Mead or Honey Wine. It is one of the extremely potent varieties and can sometimes have up to 75% alcohol by volume!

Thank you for your comments!


	2. Chapter 2

Time for a new chapter! If anyone missed the rewrite for Chapter 1, please go back and reread so you don't miss anything. I had a little fun and switched characters for this one. I hope you like it!

* * *

The steam swirled above his mug, climbing around the spoon he was absentmindedly twirling through the coffee. He was reading an article in the Mystic Falls Gazette, something about founder's day and the importance of knowing one's history. It wasn't the content that he was all that interested in, but he had promised to critique it. Damon didn't normally care much about helping people, but somehow Elena Gilbert had become the exception.

He had stumbled across an article she had written for the Whitmore alumni newsletter, his Alma Mater. Her writing style intrigued him, and he had checked Facebook, the stalker's handbook, to do some research. Dumbstruck by the photo he had found, it took him a moment to realize that he was looking at a completely different person. Her resemblance to Katherine, his ex-girlfriend, felt like someone had sucker punched him. It was at that moment he set out to learn everything he could about this mysterious dark haired, doppelganger.

As he became more and more acquainted with her, he realized how completely different she was from her counterpart. Where Katherine was calculating and even a bit callous, Elena was naive and open minded. She cared about her friends and family and it sounded like she was extremely protective of her little brother, a trait he could relate to. The more he learned, the more independent of Katherine she became in his mind.

The more he grew to appreciate as well.

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't hear the footsteps in the hallway until a tired voice jolted him back to the present.

"So who is it today, Damon? Who's the unlucky lady that's taking a shower in your bathroom" The voice asked, it's owner padding through the kitchen toward the coffee maker.

"Why do you always have to be such a downer Stefan?" He replied, looking up from his laptop. "And her name is Rose."

"You're going to have to pick a different school to plunder soon. I'm sure that you've probably gone through most of the eligible females at William and Mary by this point." Stefan replied, running a hand through his dark, sleep mussed hair.

"Well then I will just have to start on the ineligible ones." Damon retorted, a self-assured smirk gracing his lips. "Also, stop saying things like that. You make me sound like such a playboy."

"The day you stop being a playboy will be the day the apocalypse starts." Stefan shot back laughing. Damon frowned.

"Don't you have some bunnies to go save or something? I thought you had to work today."

"I do, and I'm going. Just couldn't resist seeing my big brother in the morning before I started my day." Stefan explained, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Smiling to himself, he headed back upstairs to shower and change for his job at the local animal hospital.

Yawning wide, Damon turned his attention back to the computer screen. _Good writing, horrible topic._ He thought to himself. _She shouldn't be wasting her talent on a no-name newspaper like this one. It's too far beneath her._

Footsteps creaked on the old wood stairs of the front hall. Thinking it was his brother, Damon called out.

"I bought your extra 'Dr. Hero Hair' mousse when I was at the store yesterday, as requested. It's in the linen closet."

"Not your brother. Though I do find the daddy vibe a bit of a turn on, surprisingly enough." A melodic giggle sounded from the entryway. Damon groaned. He really didn't want to do the morning afters right now. Getting up off his stool, he wandered toward the front door and watched Rose finish pulling on her boots.

"Morning Rose."

"Morning Mr. Salvatore" She replied, the teasing in her voice apparent. "Thanks for last night."

"Did you need a taxi? I can call someone." He offered. She swiped at the auburn locks that had fallen in her eyes, as she straightened up and stretched to grab her worn leather coat.

"Nah. I'll be fine." She smiled and opened the door. "Text me sometime?"

Damon nodded and she graced him with a little wave of her wrist before sashaying down the front walk. He enjoyed their arrangement. It worked for both of them. No strings, no rules, just fun. She definitely knew how to make a sleepless night worth having, and at his age, he appreciated her vivacity.

Not that 32 was old by any means, though his age did have its advantages. Owning a successful business helped too. If charm and money failed he could always use his sad, personal history. Sole guardian for his only brother at the young age of 23, after their parents were killed in a tragic snowstorm, he could snap his fingers and coax the maternal instinct out of any woman he wanted. It was the thrill of the chase that excited him. Once he won, it was onto the next one.

If that made him a playboy, then so be it but that's what he needed. Katherine had been his whole world, and since he hadn't found anyone even remotely capable of filling that void, he planned to remain a bachelor for the rest of his life. It was a plan that was still going very strong.

Glancing at the grandfather clock in the foyer, Damon cursed and headed up the stairs to jump in the shower. He needed to be at work at 9 am to meet with one of the investors and he was nowhere near ready to go in. The construction was underway to add to the inn's horse stables and they wanted to assess the process.

After a quick shower, and changing into his favorite charcoal grey suit, Damon found himself racing through the tree-lined streets of Sycamore Creek in his faded blue '69 Camaro. It was probably the only possession he had that held any meaning to him. He had restored it himself in high school and it had held up well over the past 15 years. That's what he appreciated about antiques. They were just better.

He pulled up in front of the tall white pillars of the federal style, plantation house. His family had owned the Inn, Oak Ridge, for 7 generations. It had originally been the family home. It was boarded up for years and much of the land had been sold off, after it had been pillaged during the siege of Richmond in 1865. His great-grandfather decided to take a chance on the building and opened it as an Inn. Since then, they had built it into a profitable business and Damon had taken over the running when his father had died.

It's Romanesque columns always reminded him of Gone with the Wind whenever he looked at it from a distance. It had an old Southern charm that was hard to duplicate into a modern building. The circular gravel drive that led to the building added to the allure. If you weren't careful, you might even see horse drawn carriages coming up the driveway out of the corner of your eye. The illusions of a bygone age.

Damon was greeted by a tall man with a sour expression as he stepped out of his car and handed the keys to one of the valets.

"You're late."

"Thank you Klaus. I wasn't aware of the time." Damon replied tartly.

"Really, is that anyway to start our meeting?" His companion retorted, raising an eyebrow. "And here I was, all ready to write you another check."

"You know you're going to write it regardless, so why don't we cut the crap and go check on the construction?" Damon replied.

"I thought we were old friends." Klaus pouted. "Your callous words hurt me"

"I'm not being callous, I'm being honest." Damon offered. "If you want me to be callous, then next time I will make you check the stables on your own time."

"Since you were late, and I was feeling impatient this morning, I already viewed them on my own." Klaus explained, his English accent deepening with his enunciation of the word impatient. "Everything seems to be progressing well."

"Good" Damon declared. Klaus checked his phone, typing rapidly, and smiled at his friend.

"Drinks tonight at Ric's Pub?" He asked.

"I'll see you then." Damon agreed. Klaus nodded in farewell, heading in the direction of one of the valets.

Sauntering up the stairs to the front of the old mansion, Damon said good morning to the staff as he passed. Every day, he tried to acknowledge every employee he met. He had watched his Father and Grandfather do the same from the time he was a child, and it had been impressed upon him how important it was to appear accessible to the people that worked for him. Valerie, the newest agent, was standing at the carved, antique, wood desk which served as the front desk. She smiled coyly at him as he entered the foyer and headed for his office.

"Good Morning Mr. Salvatore." She called as he passed her.

"Good Morning Ms. Val." He drawled, making her blush. Just because he didn't sleep with anyone on his staff didn't mean he couldn't flirt a little now and then. "How is everything going this morning?"

"Very well sir." She responded. "Your lawyer, Mr. Andrews called. I put him through to your voicemail, but I thought you would want to know he called."

"I don't know what I would do without you." He replied, earning a beaming smile, and shut the door to the offices. The space had originally been the front parlor, but it had been carved up into staff offices when his father had started running the business. Damon's office was in the far back corner with one of the floor to ceiling french doors along the back wall and built in shelving units along the other three walls. It was a bit exquisite for an office, but his father always felt that the General Manager should have the best. He'd always been the vainest of men when the mood struck just right.

Picking up his phone, he immediately dialed his lawyer. Receiving a call from Jason Andrews was either extremely good, or exceedingly bad. Damon was hoping for the better option. The phone picked up on the third ring.

"This is Jason."

"Hey Jason, it's Damon Salvatore."

"Damon!" The voice on the other end cheered. "I'm glad you called me back! Hell of a Monday morning let me tell you, but I have some good news about that land you wanted to buy."

"You mean the old farm that shares the southern property line?" Damon asked, his curiosity peaking.

"It seems that the owner had a tragic accident and the farm is going to be put up for sale." Jason replied. "You should be able to put in a bid as soon as next Friday, or so I've been told."

"Perfect. I will start to get things in order on our end. I appreciate the heads up."

"Anytime Damon." Jason answered, and ended the call.

 **...X...  
**

It was after 9pm by the time Damon was able to make it over to Ric's Pub. Even though it was later than he had hoped, he knew that Klaus still wouldn't be there until closer to 10pm. It would be very unlike the British ex-pat to change his routine for anyone, least of all Damon. They may have common goals when it came to work, but outside of that their relationship was strained at best.

"Damon!" A man in his mid-30s cheered from behind the bar. "I haven't seen you in a week. I almost thought you were cheating on me with another bar."

"You can't get rid of me that easily Ric. You know you're the only booze panderer within 100 miles that can make me feel like a natural woman." Sliding into his usual seat, Damon cocked his head to the side and smiled sweetly to his friend. Laughing, Alaric grabbed a bottle of bourbon from behind the bar and plopped it down in front of his friend.

"It's comments like that which make people think you're playing for both sides." Alaric remarked, chuckling. Damon snorted.

"If that's the only reason that people think we're in a relationship, this town seriously needs to pay better attention." He replied, reaching over the counter for a glass.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to reach over my bar?" Alaric asked, feigning frustration.

"How many times do I have to drink here before you remember to shut the hell up?" Damon asked with a devil may care smile streaking across his lips. His friend rolled his eyes and moved down the bar to take a drink order from another patron.

Alaric had been friends with Damon since they were kids, though hell only knew why. He sometimes thought of Alaric like a brother. Ever since the accident, Damon had found himself very short on friends. The people he had always hung out with before had practically vanished when Damon had needed to take on the responsibilities of running the family business and acting as Stefan's guardian.

It had been a serious wake up call for a kid who could never seem to stay out of trouble, but Stefan had needed him to be an adult. Katherine leaving had virtually torn Damon to shreds. Truth was that without Alaric, he probably would have gone off the deep end of the old quarry with the Camaro tires squealing. He owed more to him then he could ever admit out loud.

But Damon Salvatore didn't do sentimental.

He was on his second glass of Blanton's when Klaus waltzed through the doors of the Pub. He was early, and he was in good spirits. _'He's in rare form'_ Damon thought to himself.

He raised his glass in salute as his companion slid into the seat next to him. Alaric, being the vigilant bar owner that he was, dropped a glass on the bar counter as he passed by and Klaus helped himself to the bottle in front of Damon.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your early company this evening?" Damon asked.

"I thought we needed to do a bit of celebrating our good fortune." Klaus replied, smirking. "I know you are aware of our lucky break regarding the lands we had hoped to acquire? Jason mentioned that he had a conversation with you this afternoon. It seems we may get our way after all"

Damon frowned. Klaus sounded almost too happy about their fortunate situation. It had been an unusual coincidence that Calvin Schuler had fallen down the stairs in his home and broken his neck just days after he had rejected their attempt to buy the homestead from him.

"You wouldn't happen to have any reason to make me think you could have been involved in that poor man's accident, would you Klaus?" Damon asked, his eyes narrowed in what he hoped was mock accusation.

"Of course not." Klaus replied, taking a sip from his glass. "It's nothing that anyone needs to concern themselves over anyway. He was an old man that lost his footing."

"Right." Damon muttered to himself before changing the topic to avoid an argument.

"Enough work talk. I'm here for some fun." Klaus remarked with a sly grin. He downed the contents of his glass and moved down the bar to a group of college age girls. Damon knew the conversation was over for now. Nodding as Klaus gestured for him to join them, he set aside his thoughts and forced the most flirtatious smile he could muster. Work could wait. Now was the time for some fun.

* * *

*Fun fact - Blanton's is the same bourbon that is used on House of Cards. Looks like Damon has some very Presidential tastes!

I would love to hear some theories so please R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

Hi Everyone! Finally the moment everyone has been waiting for! **Steroline!**

Thank you everyone for your patience so far. I know there have been some lengthy gaps in my chapter postings. I can't wait to hear what you think!

If there are any M fiction fans out there that are dying for a little Delena fun, please check out my short one-shot fic "Fifty Shades of Elena Gilbert". You won't be disappointed!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

Caroline sniffled and traced one of the magnolia blossoms on her bedspread with a finger. Her mind swirled with anxiety over what she had done. Her resume was ruined. Her future job prospects bleak. Why hadn't she just held her tongue and kept her thoughts to herself?

 _She had spent yet another day being berated by her boss, and dealing with the demands of self absorbed morons. She was feeling edgier than normal. Her mind could only focus on making it through the day and getting out of there in one piece._

 _Around_ _11 am_ _, she had reached into the top drawer of her desk for the roll of quarters she kept to use in the vending machines. She didn't like to carry a bunch of change in her purse, since it made the bag heavy. Instead she left it in the very back of her drawer, behind a package of staples, for safe keeping. No one should have any reason to dig through to the back of her drawer, and she hadn't told anyone that was were her stash was kept._

 _As she pulled out the new roll, she noticed the end was ripped slightly. She didn't think much of it, until she realized that some of the quarters were gone. Quickly, she counted the quarters in the roll, using her nail to catch the edge of each one without having to completely unroll the entire bundle. $1.75. The exact same amount needed for a soda from the vending machine in the break room._

 _Her brain reeled as she tried to think through the scenarios that could have happened. She didn't believe any of the other assistants could have done this. They were all her friends. If any of them needed to borrow money, they would have just asked. No, this had to be someone else. Someone that didn't live paycheck to paycheck. Someone who didn't feel that stealing change counted as theft._

 _Someone like the infuriating people who ran the firm._

 _How could they do that? Sure it was only $1.75, which in the grand scheme of things didn't amount to much, but it was the principal of the matter! She was one of the lowest paid people there. What kind of person stole from the admin assistant!?_

 _She could feel her hands shaking, the adrenaline and rage pumping through her veins at the injustice of the situation. She needed to leave the building. To go outside and breathe before she acted on her anger._

 _"Beth." She started, making her way over to her boss's desk. "I need to take an early lunch today. Do you mind if I leave?"_

 _"Why?" Beth demanded, her eyes narrowed. Caroline tried to breathe slowly._

 _"I just need to eat early today." She repeated. Beth shook her head._

 _"No Caroline. You know that lunch is at_ _12:15 pm_ _. If I let you go early, that's not fair to anyone else. You can leave at_ _12:15_

 _"Beth please." She tried again. Beth interrupted her._

 _"I said no. You need to go back to your desk now Caroline." She replied, turning to her computer screen and ending the conversation._

 _Caroline felt her chest collapse from the weight of her anger. The world around her shattered, the sounds of the office dimming in her mind. Her eyes narrowed. Before she could stop herself, she heard two words quietly escape from her lips._

 _"I quit."_

 _"Excuse me?" Beth replied, frowning. Caroline took a deep breath, the firestorm roaring in her ears._

 _"I... quit..." She repeated, her voice stronger now. "I am done working here. I am tired of being yelled at for events beyond my control, for being treated like I'm incompetent, and for being walked all over. I quit."_

 _"Caroline, I think you're being over dramatic about this." Her boss retorted._

 _"You can think whatever you want, Beth. I am going to go clean out my desk." Caroline stated, her hand tightening around the quarters that she hadn't realized she was still holding. She looked down at the brown paper roll and gingerly placed it on Beth's desk. "If you can find the person that felt so entitled as to steal from me, feel free to give them the rest of this. They obviously need it more than I do."_

 _Using all of her effort, she calmly walked back to her desk. Grabbing the few personal items that were scattered on her desk, she plucked her coat and purse from their hook. Back straight and head held high, with her best Miss Mystic Falls poise, Caroline walked out of the office. She did not look back._

"Oh my god Bonnie. What am I going to do?!" Caroline groaned, on the verge of tears. Bonnie rubbed Caroline's back in an attempt to soothe her.

"Well you were talking about doing something different right?" Bonnie asked cautiously.

"Yes, but not like this!" Caroline replied. "When they ask why I left, how do I explain that I lost my temper and walked out?"

"You could always leave it off your resume." Elena suggested from her seat on Caroline's windowsill.

"Yeah but then I have to explain a 3 year hole in my work experience." Caroline responded. Elena sighed, obviously unsure of how to continue solving the problem. Caroline could feel her friends eyes watching her with concern as she rubbed at her face, mascara smearing as she went. They had to admit that she did have a point. It would be more difficult to find a good job without having to explain what had happened.

"Well at least now you have some time to sit back and think about your next move. Reevaluate your resume and think about what direction you want your career to go in." Elena pointed out.

Caroline put her index finger to her mouth, rolling the nail between her teeth. She'd been able to break her habit of biting her nails years ago but the feeling of holding it between her teeth still calmed her when she was feeling anxious. The conversation she had with her father the day before popped into her mind. He had been telling her all about her Uncle's homestead. How it was such a pieceful spot and how wonderful it could be as a bed and breakfast.

"Maybe I don't need a resume." Caroline interjected slowly, an idea forming in her mind. Bonnie frowned.

"What do you mean you don't need a resume? Of course you need a resume. Who would hire you without one?" Bonnie asked. Caroline shook her head rapidly, blonde hair flying. She could feel the excitement multiplying in her chest.

"Not if I hire myself." The blonde's eyes lit up in a way that only happened when she was formulating a particularly off the wall solution. "I'm going to open a Bed and Breakfast." She stated.

Elena and Bonnie both stared at Caroline dumbfounded. It wasn't the first time she had seen that look, though it had been a while.

"You don't even know the first thing about running a Bed and Breakfast." Bonnie pointed out. "And just where are you planning on acquiring said business?"

"I'm going to buy my Uncle Calvin's place. Dad said it would be perfect, though it might need some updating." She smiled. "I've been talking about opening up a business forever. I might as well put my words to good use!"

"When you said you wanted to own a business, I thought you were talking about buying Ms. Jacob's wedding dress shop when she retired, not starting up a brand new business in a field that you have no experience in." Bonnie retorted.

Caroline scoffed, excitement briefly overtaking reason in her brain. Her friends were obviously not seeing the bigger picture.

"I'm sure I could figure it out. I do have a degree in business after all." The blonde answered.

"Care you are absolutely crazy." Elena replied, laughing. "But that's why I love you."

"I agree. This is insane, but it's great to have you trying to take on the world again." Bonnie added.

"Thanks, I think?" Caroline answered, looking at both of her friends. She pawed at her bed, reaching for the cell phone that lay in front of her. "I should probably call my dad before I go any further with this off the wall plan."

 **...X...**

Bonnie had joined Elena on the window seat, while Caroline talked to her father. The two of them watched her speak animatedly into the phone, her left arm gesturing passionately.

"She knows how insane this is right? Does she even realize what she's getting herself into?" Bonnie asked her friend, keeping her voice low so as not to pull Caroline's attention away from her phone. Elena shrugged.

"I think she'd be good at it. She's always been the mothering type, so taking care of people is second nature to her. Owning a Bed and Breakfast is like having a large family but the members just change all the time." Bonnie watched Elena smile at their friend who was pacing the floor with the phone to her ear. "I would hope that with her fancy Ivy League education, she would have learned some of the basics, at the very least, on how to start her own business."

Caroline clicked disconnect on her IPhone, grinning widely. Her face was practically glowing with excitement.

"Daddy wants me to come out and see the place with him tomorrow. I think he's worried I've lost my mind." She stated, giggling slightly.

"I wonder where he could have gotten that idea from?" Bonnie muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. She wobbled slightly when Elena hip checked her, frowning.

"Well I'm happy for you Care, really. I hope it's everything you are looking for." Elena responded, encouragement rolling off her words.

Caroline sat down on the edge of the bed, the apparent weight of everything starting to sink in. Her smile faltered slightly as she fiddled with the edges of her phone case.

"What happens if I fail?" She asked quietly. Bonnie moved next to Caroline and draped her arm around her friend trying to provide some comfort to her.

"Then you pick yourself back up and try again. You're Caroline Forbes, former Miss Mystic Falls. A born leader!" Bonnie exclaimed. "And you'll always have us, remember?"

Caroline's smile was starting to come back. Bonnie could see the excitement filtering back into her features.

"You guys are the best. What did I do to deserve either of you?" She asked.

"Absolutely nothing." Elena answered, smirking. "Now tell us your plan."

 **...X...**

Stefan had never understood what people meant when they spoke of fate. It always seemed like they were trying to make more of a situation than what it really was when they added that "mystical" quality to it.

He was too practical a person to think that what happened in one's life was caused by anything other than one's own choices. The forces of the universe had more important things to do than to try mess with him and his plans. No one was more in charge of what would happen to him than he was. At least that was how he had felt until today.

Today was the day that fate came up behind him and slapped him upside the head.

He hadn't wanted to go out for lunch. Stefan had too much paperwork to do, and frankly he was in a terrible mood. His brother had come home loud and drunk the evening before, and angrily proceeded to bang around for what felt like eternity. When he was finally done, he had left Stefan very few precious sleep hours before his shift at the animal clinic. The resulting Murphy's Law of issues that ensued throughout the morning had only served to add to his foul outlook.

If not for his best friend Lexi forcing the issue of getting out of the office for a bit, " _it was a beautiful day after all and who couldn't benefit from eating lunch on the patio at Rosa's cafe"_ , Stefan may have missed his first glimpse of the most mesmerizing woman he had ever seen.

"Earth to Stefan." A voice broke through his thoughts and pulled him back to reality. The woman sitting on the other side of the bistro table frowned at him annoyed. Stefan grimaced.

"Sorry Lexi. I didn't mean to ignore you." He responded. Lexi glanced down the street at the blonde that had caught his attention.

"Yeah. I can see why I became so unfortunate to pay attention to all the sudden." She remarked, her eyebrows rising into her bangs. Lexi laughed at the slight flush that Stefan could feel spread across his cheeks. "It's OK to look, or even date, as long as you don't start channeling your creep of a brother."

"I know I've had a bit of a..." He paused looking for the right words, his fingers drumming on his leg. "…dry spell lately. That doesn't mean that I'd even consider acting like Damon."

"No offense to your gene pool, because you could absolutely be a Casanova in your own right if you really wanted to, but your brother is a world class jerk." Lexi responded.

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not." Stefan answered, watching the blonde haired female he had caught sight of earlier. She was happily talking to someone on her cell phone, her curled hair bouncing across her shoulders, completely oblivious to the world around her as she approached the crosswalk. This would have been fine, except for the black Porsche convertible screaming straight for her.

"Look out!" Stefan bellowed. Before he knew what he was doing, he found himself sprinting out of his seat toward her. Her blue eyes locked on his, fear splintering into their depths as she realized what was happening. He could hear the car starting to brake, but with the speed it had been going it wouldn't stop in enough time. Stefan grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto the sidewalk, barely avoiding a collision.

The car came to a stop several feet down the road, leaving the air smelling of burnt rubber and exhaust fumes.

"Stefan are you ok?!" Lexi yelled, running towards them. "That was amazing! I haven't seen you move that fast since high school!" She cheered as she approached them. Stefan looked down at the young woman standing before him. Her knuckles where white where they were clutching her phone and she seemed to be shaking slightly.

"Hey" Stefan asked softly, letting go of his grip on her arm. "Are you alright miss?"

"I think so." She replied, brushing strands of hair behind her ears. "Thank you. I don't want to think about what could have happened if you hadn't come along." She looked up at him, with a shaky smile. "I should have been paying better attention."

"I haven't seen you around here before." Stefan answered, trying to help get her mind off what had just happened.

"I'm new to the area." She answered, visibly calmer. "My name is Caroline."

"Stefan." He replied, giving her a smile of his own. Lexi's yelling caught his attention. She had moved toward the Porsche, and was loudly chastising the owner.

"Klaus you bastard. You almost killed someone! What is your problem?" She shouted at the dark haired man standing in front of her, checking for any damage to his car.

"But I didn't did I?" He retorted, his tone dripping with annoyance. "Honestly Lexi, don't you think you're over reacting a bit."

"It's a miracle that you haven't seriously injured someone yet. With the way you race around town in that thing." Lexi replied, her eyebrows knitted together in anger.

Stefan moved towards the bickering pair, hoping to arrange a cease fire to their argument. Lexi would have Klaus by the throat before this was over if he didn't step in. The two were the epitome of the phrase "fighting like cats and dogs." He noticed that Caroline had shifted down the street with him, her hands brushing over her pencil skirt and frilly blouse as she tried to calm the shaking in her hands.

Klaus straightened when he caught sight of Caroline.

"My dear, are you alright? I hope I didn't harm you in any way with my carelessness." He cooed, reaching out for her hand. Caroline looked from Stefan, to Lexi rolling her eyes, and back to Klaus. Stefan could tell she was getting a sense that she shouldn't let herself fall for this man's charms, but a polite smile appeared on her face.

"I'm fine, thanks to Stefan." She remarked. Klaus nodded, one side of his mouth curling in a flirtatious smile.

"Yes, Mr. Salvatore can be very useful when one needs a hero." He glanced at the restaurant Lexi and Stefan had been eating at. "How about we go get something to eat? My treat?"

"I'm sure that almost running someone over can make a person very hungry." Lexi remarked snidely, causing Klaus to frown.

"Lexi and I already have a table. There's room for you and Caroline if you want to join us." Stefan chimed in, casting a sidelong glance at his friend. Lexi shrugged.

"I'm not one to turn down a free meal." She replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder and turning back toward the patio they had been sitting on previously. "Besides, you owe Stefan for keeping you from manslaughter charges."

"Well since we've all invited ourselves to dine on my tab..." Klaus trailed off, gesturing toward Lexi's retreating form. Caroline snuck a questioning glance at Stefan who smiled and gave her a small shrug of his own before following after his fiery friend. Stefan gestured to the waitress to bring menus for the newcomers.

"Should you call back whoever you were on the phone with earlier?" Stefan asked Caroline. She blinked at him for a moment before realizing what he was talking about.

"Oh! That was just my friend Elena. I texted her to tell her I would give her the rest of my news when I see her tonight."

"Good news, I hope?" Klaus responded, handing his menu back to the waitress with his order. Stefan could feel himself getting more and more agitated with the Brit's attempt at flirtation.

"So far yes. I'm hoping to start my own business." Caroline chirped excitedly. "If everything goes well, I'll be moving here permanently."

"An entrepreneur? Someone after my own heart I see." He remarked, his dark eyes sparkling. "And what would this new endeavor involve exactly?"

"I'm going to open a Bed and Breakfast. My Great Uncle just recently passed away, but he had this really cool old farmhouse that would be perfect for it. There are these flowering cherry trees that frame the front walk, and even though it needs a bit of hard work it just has so much southern charm." Caroline explained. Stefan couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm that poured out of her when she talked about her new project.

"You're not talking about Old Calvin Schuler's place? Over on Creek road?" Lexi asked.

"Yeah that's the one! Did you know Uncle Calvin at all?" Caroline replied, nodding.

Klaus stood up from the table unexpectedly, startling his three dining partners. Stefan noticed the stiff look he gave them, and the flash of anger that appeared in his eyes, dampened almost as soon as it started. Caroline seemed a bit uneasy but unimpressed by the response, which made Stefan feel the need to bite back a smile.

"I apologize but I need to be leaving. I have some business to attend to." He pulled out a hundred dollar bill and lay it on the table. Turning to Caroline, he gave her a tight lipped smile. "I'm sure we will be seeing much of each other in the future, my dear. It has been a pleasure." He intoned, drawling out the last sentence before taking his leave of the group.

Caroline looked at Stefan and Lexi her face appearing bewildered.

"Did I say something wrong?" She asked. Stefan let out a long breath that he didn't realize he had been holding.

"Klaus and my brother are associates and sometimes friends." He remarked, trying hard to hide his sarcasm. "My brother was very angry when he came home last night. I think you just helped me to understand why."

"Because I'm interested in opening my own business?" She asked, still confused. "What does that have to do with them."

"Plenty. The Schuler property shares the south property line with the land that the Oak Ridge Inn sits on. It's the old Salvatore family, my family's, homestead." Stefan explained, understanding dawning on him as he spoke. "Klaus and my brother, Damon, have been trying to buy up the surrounding land to expand their holdings."

"So my Bed and Breakfast is threatening their territory." Caroline finished, her shoulders drooping slightly. "Oh god this is awful."

"No this is wonderful!" Lexi exclaimed. She smiled at Caroline. "Damon and Klaus will finally have to hear the word no. I love it!"

"I didn't want to start a war though." The blonde countered, but she did have a small smile forming.

"You may have a fight on your hands." Stefan added. "But if you're really doing this, keep in mind that there are several people in town that want them stopped. You'll have alli's if you know where to look."

Caroline nodded, though Stefan could see that her enthusiasm had been dampened significantly. Glancing at his watch, he realized that his break time was quickly coming to an end. Unfortunately, his afternoon was booked solid with appointments or he would have been very tempted to skip the rest of the day.

"I'm sorry to do this, but Lexi and I need to be getting back to the Animal Hospital. Are you alright eating by yourself?" He asked her.

"I'm not really hungry anyway. I should be heading back home so I can look over the purchase papers." She smiled at him. "I appreciate the concern though."

"At least let me walk you to your car?" Stefan probed further. He caught Lexi smirking at both of them.

"I'll see you back at work Stefan." She interjected. "And welcome to town Caroline." Lexi added, a smile lighting up her face.

Stefan extended his hand to help Caroline stand up from her chair and the two of them started walking the short distance to her car. He watched her tuck a strand of hair behind her right ear. He wondered what it would feel like to do that himself. Were her curls as soft as they looked?

"So you work with Animals?" She asked politely in an attempt at small talk. Stefan nodded.

"I'm a Veterinarian. Newly minted, I might add. I just received my degree in December." He remarked, chuckling softly.

"That's an admirable job. At least I know who to contact if I get a pet when I finally move here." She responded.

"Hopefully that's not the only reason you'd want to contact me?" Stefan inquired. He watched with anticipation as Caroline's cheeks flushed. She sucked in her lower lip with a shy smile. He had to admit it was an incredibly cute reaction. He had the sudden urge to kiss those strawberry lips and see if they tasted anywhere as good as he thought they might.

"We'll see." She remarked as they reached her car. "I have to move here first remember?"

"Where was it that you said you were from?" Stefan asked as she opened the car door. Caroline smiled turning back toward him.

"I didn't." She replied coyly and got into her car.

Stefan smiled to himself as he watched her car pull away. Today had proved to be a good day after all.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm so excited to get this new chapter out to you guys! Thank you so much to all my followers and reviewers. I appreciate your patience with all of the rewrites and chapter structure changes. Part of fanfiction for me is learning how to be a better writer, so comments are very much appreciated. I hope you are enjoying the story so far!

Please continue to R&R so I can make this story better and better.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries**

* * *

Caroline was ready to burst with excitement by the time she pulled into Mystic Falls. She couldn't wait to get home and tell Elena and Bonnie all about the handsome stranger that had saved her life. Parking and practically ejecting herself from the car, she made her way to the Gilbert house and entered without knocking. Elena, Bonnie and Aunt Jenna were sitting in the living room when Caroline burst into the house.

"Elena! I think I just met Adonis." Caroline chirped excitedly as she entered the foyer. She felt so twitterpated she was afraid she would burst.

"Oh good, Barbie is here too." An annoyed voice called from the kitchen.

"Hi Jeremy. It's so great to see you." Caroline replied as she waltzed into the living room and smiled her fakest of nice smiles into the attached Kitchen where Elena's little brother was making himself a snack. Little was an understatement anymore. At 6' 1" Jeremy towered over her, but she had known him through most every phase of his life and she would always see him as a kid. "Fortunately, not even your sunshine personality can dampen my happiness, so shoo. Don't you have some brooding to do somewhere else Mr. Artist?"

"Jeremy you knew the girls were coming over, so why are you even here?" Jenna demanded, glaring at her adopted son. Jeremy bit into his sandwich and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, I'll be in my room." He retorted, breezing up the stairs to the second floor. Caroline flopped down onto the couch next to Elena and sighed. She could still feel her arms tingling from where Stefan had touched her. Kicking off her nude pumps, she pulled her legs up onto the couch.

"I thought he would grow out of the angry sulking when he went away to college." Jenna groaned, her eyes glancing up the stairs at her nephew's retreating back.

"Yeah but he got his degree in art. Brooding is part of Art 101 remember?" Elena replied laughing at her aunt's sigh. Bonnie turned to Caroline with a lopsided grin.

"I see you had a good day." She remarked, causing Caroline to blush and launch into an explanation of her experience.

She made sure not to leave out any details about her run in with Klaus and his interest in the Inn. She may have exaggerated the encounter with Stefan and his heroics a little, like how he had grabbed her up in his arms in a very 'Superman with Lois Lane' kind of way and whisked her away from danger, but if her life was going to become something out of a Danielle Sparks novel it deserved a little embellishment.

"So does this mystery hero have a name?" Bonnie teased.

"Stefan Salvatore." Caroline announced, enunciating every syllable, as she held back a sappy sigh of happiness. Elena's head whipped around like she has been slapped.

"Stefan Salvatore?" Elena asked, her voice wavering a bit. Caroline nodded.

"Yeah. Why? Have you met him before?" Caroline asked, confused by her friends tone. The look on Elena's face troubled her and a horrible thought crossed her mind. "Oh my god. He's not the guy you've been email dating is he?"

"Caroline!" Elena squeaked, turning red at the look Jenna gave her.

"What? I thought Jenna knew."

"No Jenna DIDN'T know." Jenna inserted, giving Elena a glance explaining that details were to be expected later.

"I haven't been talking to Stefan." Elena cleared her throat. She paused, biting her lip, before admitting. "I've been talking to his brother, Damon."

Caroline's head was spinning. Damon Salvatore? The same guy that Stefan and Lexi had been complaining about earlier? The power hungry, land grabber that could be a threat to her new business? ' _How is this even possible?'_

"Damon Salvatore. You're internet boyfriend is Damon freeking Salvatore?" The blonde asked slowly. Elena nodded.

"He's not my boyfriend, Caroline, and yes Damon Salvatore is an acquaintance of mine. He saw one of my articles in the Whitmore newsletter, where he happens to also be an alumni, and we started chatting. At first it was pretty innocent, but now..." She trailed off, her blush deepening.

"I want photos." Jenna interjected. Bonnie grabbed her phone and started rapidly typing.

"Let's see if these guys are on Facebook." She remarked, dodging Elena's attempt to snatch the phone away.

Jenna, Bonnie, and Caroline each sucked in an audible breath when Damon's profile was pulled up. Striking blue eyes stared back at them from the man in the photo, his black hair slightly mussed, a self assured smile curling at his lips as he watched something that was happening behind and to the right of the photographer. The top two buttons of his black dress shirt were unbuttoned, and the glass he held was tucked up against the lapel of his shirt.

"Wow. He looks like a model." Bonnie remarked. "I can see why you're into him."

"It's not just about his looks Bon. He...gets me." Elena stammered. "It's like we are on some other level when we talk."

"But I'm sure it doesn't hurt that he looks like that." Jenna added, causing Elena's blush to darken. "Ok now the other one."

Bonnie started typing again, searching for Stefan's profile. Now it was Elena's turn to ogle the photo along with Bonnie and her Aunt. Stefan had the same strong jaw and powerful eyes that his brother possessed, except his were green in place of Damon's blue. There was something softer in his expression though, something that made him seem more trustworthy than his older brother. Almost puppy like.

 _'Dark v Light'_ Caroline thought to herself with furrowed brows. She hoped that Stefan and Lexi had been over exaggerating about Damon today. She couldn't stand the thought of fighting with her best friends love interest, but maybe she could use that to find some kind of common ground to work off of. An idea popped into her head and she decided to act on it before she had any second thoughts.

"Why don't you come help me start the inn? Caroline announced. Elena sputtered around her sip of wine.

"I'm sorry, what kind of insane scheme are you coming up with now?" Elena asked accusingly.

"It's not insane. You want to make this happen right? So come help me with the inn. What better way to see him then to live in the same zip code?"

"Caroline has a point." Bonnie interjected. "You do need a better way if you want to get this to work, and she's going to need help getting her new business up and running. I would love to help but Grams needs me to help with the business. Beltaine is coming and the online ordering for the new website is just starting to take off so I can't leave right now."

"Right isn't that a wiccan holiday or something?" Caroline asked. Bonnie's Grandmother had a well established store for pagans, witches, and anyone that just wanted to dabble. Sometimes the things she saw when she visited gave her the creeps, but it was important to Bonnie, so she kept her mouth shut. Bonnie had recently started helping with expanding to an online shop and it seemed business was going well.

"Or something." Bonnie replied, sighing. "Anyway, I think Elena should go with you."

Elena sat silently on the couch, sipping her wine in thought. Caroline knew that Elena wasn't one to make rash decisions. All avenues needed to be thought out before she took the plunge and made up her mind. So she was extremely surprised when Elena began nodding her head.

"Ok fine, I will go with you." The brunette answered, looking back at her friend with excitement in her brown eyes. "But I'm going for you. Not for Damon. If anything happens with him then we can come to that when and if it happens, but my decision is because you are my friend and you need help."

"Fair enough." Caroline replied, trying to conceal the smile of triumph on her face. "I have to go back tomorrow to finish signing paperwork with my Dad. Will you come with me?"

Elena nodded again and Caroline squealed with excitement.

"This is going to be so much fun!"

 **...X...**

Damon took a sip of his bourbon from the glass in his hand. Today had been a long day and, even though he wasn't completely drunk, he was well on his way to not being able to drive home safely. It was a good thing that Ric's bar was so close to Damon's house. There had been several times when it had come in handy after a late night binge drinking session.

Klaus had been in a raging mood that evening, talking about the new inn owner, but that wasn't what had Damon diving for the bottle.

...

 _Damon entered through the front hallway, and tried not to flinch at the sound of breaking glass that ricocheted through the parlor. He had known this could happen when he had made his way over to his colleague's house, pulled from his study by an overly dramatic phone call._

 _Klaus stood grasping the mantle of the white marble fireplace beside him as Damon entered the room. To the untrained eye, he was thinking and maybe slightly intoxicated. Damon knew better. The broken whiskey glass that lay on the floor across the room with its dark liquid contents dripping down the wall, helped to betray Klaus's thoughts._

 _A fire crackled softly in the hearth. The smell of charred wood perfumed the air. An eerie glow cast shadows around the room, and deepened the frown lines on Klaus's face._

 _"Why is it that every time I think I am going to get something done around here, the fates always find fit to screw with me?" He asked, sucking in a deep breath through his nose. Damon cleared his throat and sauntered toward the wet bar._

 _"Good evening to you too Klaus." He responded, pouring himself a glass of bourbon from the supply in front of him. He tilted the bottle toward Klaus, who waived his hand in refusal. Damon shrugged and took a sip of his drink, smiling slightly at the warm sensation it created in his throat. He did have to appreciate what good taste his companion happened to possess when it came to alcohol._

 _Klaus, seemingly thinking better of his decision, moved across the room toward the bottle Damon had replaced on the counter top. Grabbing a clean glass, he poured himself a generous helping and took a deep gulp. He refilled the glass again before choosing to slide into one of the leather armchairs by the fire. Damon followed suit, plopping into it's twin._

 _"To Miss Caroline Forbes of Mystic Falls. May she fail miserably and go back where she bloody came from." Klaus added, lifting his glass in salute. Damon frowned._

 _"Mystic Falls? Virginia?" He asked. Klaus raised an eyebrow._

 _"You've heard of it?"_

 _"It's near Whitmore. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it when we were in school." He replied, trying to divert attention from his question. He wasn't ready for anyone to know about his relationship to Mystic Falls._

 _"I'm assuming it's another backwater town that I don't need to know anything about. Though it does seem to be flowing over lately." Klaus snidely remarked._

 _"What's that supposed to mean?" Damon asked._

 _"It means is that Miss Forbes has seen fit to bring friends with her to help with her new endeavor." He replied, his accent deepening with his frustration. "A Miss Elena, something or other. I was told she was accompanying Caroline to the realtors office this afternoon."_

 _Damon felt his heart leap into his throat at the sound of her name. 'It couldn't possibly be her.' He thought. 'But Elena isn't exactly a very common name either.' He coughed lightly to try and force the organ back into his chest._

 _"Elena... Gilbert?" Damon asked as nonchalantly as he could manage. He tried not to choke on his drink when Klaus started nodding._

 _"Yes I think that was her name." Klaus nodded, processing the information and eyeing him with curiosity. "Do you know her?"_

 _"Only in passing. She's a contributing author to the Whitmore Alumni newsletter."_

 _"Interesting." Klaus intoned, his manner exuding anything but interested. He drummed his fingers on the leather arm rest. A small smile forming on his lips. "You've spoken with her then I assume. What with her rather striking resemblance to a certain, Katherine Pierce."_

 _"How do you...?" Damon started, narrowing his eyes in surprise before being cut off by Klaus._

 _"So you do know about that." Klaus interjected, swirling the dark liquid around in his glass. "From what I hear, she could be the definition of what you would call a doppelganger. In fact, that's why my informant found her so interesting."_

 _"I admit that they look similar." Damon responded carefully, clearing his throat. "Ok more than similar, and I may have chatted with her before. But her being here won't change us trying to acquire the property."_

 _"Actually mate. I think we can use this to our advantage." Klaus responded with a smile, before downing the remains of his glass._

 _..._

Damon groaned and ran a hand through his hair. He really did not like having Klaus of all people involved in his personal life. Downing the last of his drink, he slammed the glass on the bar to get his friend's attention. Alaric glanced at him with a raised brow and shook his head.

"I'm busy. Get it yourself."

"You're so fickle with my feelings. The other day, you wanted to take care of me, and now you couldn't care less. Is it that time of the month again?" Damon asked, feigning a whisper. The man behind the bar frowned and grabbed a bottle, plopping it down in front of a grinning Damon.

"You should probably go a little easier with the drinking Damon." Alaric interjected, watching the liquid slosh slightly as his friend raised the glass to his lips.

"Oh no, I have a date with this bottle tonight. She needs some love. I can't deny her my love." Damon answered, reaching for another refill.

"Alright what's going on with you. You need to talk?" Alaric asked, watching his friend carefully.

"Well Ric, sometimes you have to make a deal with the devil to get what you want." He replied with a sardonic grin. "And then the devil sends his hell hounds to bite you in the ass."

"You would know better than I do about that one, Damon." Alaric grunted. "You seem to be spending quite a bit of time with the devil lately."

"I'm not Klaus's lap dog, if that's what you're trying to insinuate." Damon retorted. "Though I have been told that my bite isn't nearly as scary as I like to believe."

"What a line. Is that how you get all those girls to fall all over you?"

"Sometimes biting can be nice. If you know how to do it properly that is." The dark haired Salvatore added, running the tip of his tongue over his canines absentmindedly. He watched Alaric roll his eyes.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on or should I get back to my paying customers?" He asked, with extra emphasis on 'paying'.

"Klaus knows about Elena." Damon replied before taking another gulp of his bourbon. Alaric frowned.

"Wait the girl that you've been internet stalking? The one..."

"Who looks so much like Katherine that it feels like a knife in my gut every time I see her photo? Yeah that one." Damon finished, running his finger along the rim of his glass.

 **...X...**

Alaric watched him with sad eyes. Katherine had killed a part of Damon. Whatever innocence had survived the death of his parents had been ripped apart by that succubus. Alaric had never thought very highly of her to begin with. Now he loathed her. When he found out that Damon was getting close to a woman again, after so many years of being the definition of a playboy, he had been hopeful. Maybe, just maybe, his best friend could finally heal from the wounds that had been inflicted on him.

He finally got Damon to open up about his new interest, and felt the hard, cold ball form in his stomach again when he glanced at Elena's photo. The similarity between her and Katherine was unfathomable, and for a moment he thought he was looking at Katherine. Until he saw her eyes. Where Katherine's gaze had been hard and calculating, Elena's was softer, trusting, and innocent.

Alaric could sense the confusion in his friend, the battle waging between past and present. He did notice a lessening in the amount of alcohol that was being consumed by Damon on a daily basis. He'd always joked about dragging his friend to an AA meeting if he didn't lighten up, usually laughed off with a sarcastic comment by the oldest Salvatore brother. Maybe Elena was good for him, and in some twisted way she could be a salve that nothing else had been.

But now Klaus knew Damon's secret. And he would use it against him, just like he did everything else. Klaus might be moving up a notch or two on Alaric's hit list.

"How did he find out?" Alaric asked, pouring himself a dram of the bourbon sitting on the counter. He usually didn't drink at work, but he'd be damned if this didn't call for something strong.

"Remember that Caroline chick I was telling you about, Ric?" Damon replied, pursing his lips together and rolling the tumbler between his fingers. Ric nodded and Damon continued. "Well it turns out that Elena is her friend. And she's in Sycamore Creek. One of Klaus's spies spotted her."

"Well that's good news though right?"Alaric waived his hands to keep Damon from unloading on him. "Hear me out. You like this girl right?" Damon nodded and Ric continued. "So the next logical step would be figuring out how to meet."

"Ok Cher Horowitz, but this isn't exactly something that can be fixed with a trip to the mall. And it definitely isn't what one would call an ideal situation. Besides, I still haven't figured out why she looks like Katherine, or if she even has any connection to Katherine, so how do I explain that to anyone else? For example, my incredibly nosey and obnoxiously saintly brother Stefan?" Damon growled.

"Who cares? You don't have to have an answer for everything Damon." Alaric remarked shrugging. Damon made a non-committal face and finished his drink.

"I think I should head home. Early day tomorrow." He answered. Alaric knew that he was being avoidant of the topic, which irked him slightly, but he didn't want to push Damon too hard on the subject. That might make his friend run in the opposite direction, which was not how Alaric wanted this to work out. Damon needed to stop running sometime, and that time was apparently now. Elena Gilbert would either be the best thing for him, or the absolute worst. Alaric was betting everything he had on the first option.

"Alright. I'm here if you need to talk." Alaric added, making Damon snort.

"Thanks Dr Phil." He grumbled, grabbing his leather jacket. Damon let the door slam as he left causing Alaric to wince.

 _'Please let this turn out alright. For Damon's sake.'_ He thought in a silent prayer to anyone that might be listening. _'Please'_


	5. Chapter 5

**I have been writing up a storm lately! Finally over this writers block and hopefully I can get a few more chapters out relatively quickly. I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 4. I was going to hold this back a little longer, but it's been so long since I've published anything that I decided to be nice :)**

 **Please keep reading and reviewing! Thank you so much to all of my past reviewers and to winterbabyalways for their review of Chapter 4!**

* * *

Why were there so many shades of white? Some of them looked exactly the same to her, though they all had different names and brands. Eggshell, cream, coconut, snow... It was enough to send Caroline spinning. Why was choosing a paint color for the house such a difficult task all the sudden?

She could feel the weight of her decision laying on her shoulders. First impressions meant everything, especially when it came to the place she would be inviting people to spend their money for the foreseeable future. She probably looked like a crazy woman, standing in front of the wall of paint swatches for the past hour and a half. Three of the hardware store employees had asked her if she needed any help, this crazy woman muttering to herself and ripping little paper sticks off the wall periodically. Now they were all standing at the register watching her as if they needed to be ready to call the men with the padded vests at any moment.

Caroline wanted to cry.

"Can I help at all?" a voice asked from behind her. Glowering and frustrated, she whipped around to face yet another employee.

"No you cannot. If one more person asks me that question I swear I'll..." She started, her voice catching as she confronted the person behind her. Her heart dropped into her knees when she came face to face with Stefan Salvatore.

"You sound a little stressed. You sure you don't need any help?" He asked, trying hard to keep from laughing. She put a hand up to one of her burning cheeks.

"Oh god, Stefan. I thought it was one of the store employees again." She mumbled, peering around him at the clan of blue shirted individuals who were blatantly listening in on their conversation. "I'm pretty sure they think I'm crazy."

"Well aside from the mumbling under your breath, I think they were probably just curious about you. Small towns you know." He answered, leaning down to pick up some of the color swatches she had dropped in her shock.

"Oh boy do I ever." She answered, trying and failing to help collect her pile. She could feel her pulse quickening at the thought of how close he was to her. If she just leaned in a little to the left...

' _No!'_ she thought, standing back up and mentally slapping herself for being such a lush. _'You barely know him, and you have a house to paint. Get it together Caroline!'_

"What are you trying to do with all of these paint colors anyway?" Stefan asked, pulling her out of her visions of _Fifty Shades of Stefan._ Her throat suddenly felt incredibly dry.

"I'm trying, and failing, to figure out a new color for the outside of the Inn." She replied, gesturing to the display in front of her. "I'm having a bit of a color overload at the moment."

Stefan nodded and flipped through the small pile that sat in his hands. He frowned and turned back toward the wall. Reaching up, he grabbed a new swatch and handed it to her. The paper was a pale, buttery yellow.

"I don't know much about colors, but I'm guessing you want something that makes people feel welcome." He blushed slightly. "My mother used to have these really big peony bushes that framed our front door. The flowers were a light yellow, kind of similar to this one. I always thought it was pretty."

"It's beautiful." Caroline answered honestly, taking the card from his outstretched fingers. He looked so adorable she couldn't help but smile. The image of a smaller version of him admiring flowers, popped into her head. It was too cute for her to handle. "I think it would be perfect."

"I'm glad I could help. Stefan replied, clearing his throat.

"You should come over." Caroline blurted out before she could stop herself. "I mean, you haven't seen the place before right? And you might have some more insight on paint colors."

"I would like that." He answered, smiling brightly. She loved how the corners of his eyes crinkled as his smile lit up his whole face. "I have tomorrow afternoon free, if it's not an imposition."

"Absolutely not! That would be perfect. I should be able to get some of the siding painted tonight, so you can give me your opinion on the color." She replied, displaying a little more excitement than she meant to.

"Until tomorrow then." Stefan gave her a parting smile. She watched him disappear out the front entrance and turned toward the register where the employees were watching her private drama unfold. She smiled over at them.

"If you're all done gawking, I could use some help over here!"

 **...X...**

Elena plopped into one of the wooden rocking chairs that sat on the screened in front porch and opened her laptop. It had been two weeks since she and Caroline had started renovations on the old house. Bill Forbes had encouraged them to start working on fixing up the place while he transferred the title to his daughter. This way they would be ready to open once all of the financing came through.

It had been a busy two weeks of clearing, sorting and cleaning. Elena had immersed herself into it, telling herself it was the reason she hadn't taken any time to write to Damon since their arrival. She knew it was an excuse. Caroline wouldn't have minded in the slightest if Elena had snuck off to talk to Damon. She was the reason Elena was in this town in the first place.

It wasn't that she was trying to hide her new living situation from him, but how was she even supposed to start a conversation about her whereabouts. "Well guess where I'm living now" sounded too corny, and "Hey Sycamore Creek seems pretty nice", had a crazy stalker vibe attached to it.

Her fingers hovered over the laptop keys, stretching and and playing with the air. She twisted her ring around on her index finger a few times, hoping to kick start her thoughts, but she felt hopeless. Fear and uncertainty continued to strengthen her writer's block. She groaned out loud, and ruffled her long hair with her traitorous hands.

As if on cue, an email from Damon landed in her inbox. Quickly, she clicked to open it and see if this would give her any guidance in tackling this problem.

 ** _Hey there stranger. It's been a while since I've heard anything from you. I know I've been hard to reach lately, with all the extra hours I've had to pull at work, but I don't want you to think that I've been ignoring you. Have you been up to anything new?_**

 ** _Damon_**

Elena sighed. He must have seen that she was online. Of all people, he knew how to make her feel guilty without even trying. Or maybe that was just her conscience, which had been beating on her for the month since she had agreed to help Caroline. She hated feeling like she was lying to him.

She heard the sound of a car pulling up to the house, just as she finally set her fingers back on the keyboard to tell Damon her news. ' _Probably Caroline coming back from the store.'_ Elena thought, and took a deep breath.

 ** _Hey,_**

 ** _I'm sorry I didn't reply to your last email. Things have been kinda hectic around here lately. The truth is I've actually relocated to a new city with my friend Caroline. She's starting a new business venture and roped me into helping. Turns out, her new business is in Sycamore Creek. Small world huh?_**

Elena groaned and deleted her last sentence. The whole email sounded trite and uncomfortable, but the sound of the screen door slamming made her jump before she could retype anything. Standing in front of her, with a look of horror mixed with curiosity and anger was a tall brunette man. His knuckles were white around the bottle that he carried.

"Katherine?" He asked with a strangled voice. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, you must be confused. My name is Elena." She replied, her brows knitting together in surprise and confusion. She watched him compose himself, his face melting into one of cautious optimism.

"I'm sorry, you just... you remind me of someone that I used to know." He replied, sticking out his free hand. "I'm Stefan."

"It's nice to meet you Stefan." Elena replied, forcing as genuine a smile on her face as she could manage. She closed her laptop, it wouldn't hurt Damon to wait a little longer, and reached for his hand in greeting.

"Caroline actually told me to meet her here. I ran into her in town yesterday and she mentioned showing me around." He replied, answering her unspoken question. The sound of a car door slamming caught their attention. They turned to see where it had come from.

"Oh my god, Stefan! I am so sorry!" a voice called from the driveway. Caroline had evidently arrived in the middle of their awkward meeting. She had more bags than Elena was able to count, perched on her arms and in her hands. Stefan set the bottle of what Elena realized was Champagne, down on a table and strode towards Caroline, intent on helping lighten her load. Elena felt a tingle go down her spine at the smile he was giving her friend. She hoped that she might get to enjoy that same expression on the face of another Salvatore sometime soon.

"I only just got here myself. Let me help you with those before you hurt yourself." He demanded, catching a bag before it fell to the ground.

"Thanks. I always try to bring in too much at once. Call it laziness, or whatever, but I hate making multiple trips." Caroline responded, smiling bashfully. "You've met Elena I assume?"

Stefan nodded, looking at Elena again with a masked expression. His thoughts were unreadable to Elena, and she decided to keep her questions to herself. There would be another opportunity to figure out his initial reaction to her. Smiling at her friend, Elena mirrored his bobbing head.

"I think Stefan brought you something Care." She remarked, gesturing to the bottle. Stefan shrugged.

"It's nothing really, just a gift to celebrate you finally choosing a paint color." He grinned, picking up the bottle. Caroline's face lit up with a brilliant smile.

"That was so thoughtful of you Stefan! Come on inside. I'll give you a tour and then you can give me your opinion of the siding." The blonde remarked, sidling toward the front door. Elena jumped up and opened it for her friend, following them into the house to help unload the groceries.

She had plenty of time to brood over her own love life later.

 **...X...**

 ** _Hey,_**

 ** _You are the one person I know that can make me feel guilty without even trying! I'm sorry I haven't had time to reply to your last email. Life's been really hectic lately as I am sure you will be aware of soon. Small towns always have a hard time keeping secrets, so I should probably let you know that I've relocated to Sycamore Creek. I promise I'm not being a stalker, I'm only here to help my friend Caroline start her new business. If that's not too weird for you, maybe we could grab a drink sometime. I'll leave it up to you though._**

 ** _Elena_**

"DAMON!" He heard his brother bellow his name as the front door slammed shut. Footsteps echo down the hallway and into the living room. Glancing away from his IPad, he fixed his eyes on Stefan.

"Has anyone ever told you that frowning that much causes wrinkles?" He asked, smiling casually at his brother.

"You knew about this didn't you. You knew and you didn't say a single word to me about it." Stefan growled accusingly, obviously not amused by his brother's antics. Damon realized, based on the agitated way his brother kept running his index finger over the side of his jeans, that Stefan had probably had a face to face with a certain new town resident. He knew it had only been a matter of time before the secret blew up in his face, but he still hadn't figured out how to address it with his brother. Obviously it wasn't a secret anymore.

"There are a lot of things I don't tell you about. How long it took me to brush my teeth today? What I'm thinking about making for dinner? The number of girls I made out with last night? It was three by the way. They were triplets." Damon bragged, waiving the hand holding his glass in a nonchalant manner. "You're going to have to be a bit more specific on this one baby bro."

"How about explaining Elena Gilbert." Stefan demanded, grinning in triumph when Damon narrowed his eyes. _'_ G _uess we aren't beating around the bush on this one.'_

"What about Elena Gilbert?" Damon asked, trying to sound as aloof as possible. He knew that the rate at which he was sucking down his drink was giving his thoughts away. His brother fixed him with a knowing glare.

"Why don't we start with the part where she looks like a carbon copy of Katherine." Stefan retorted. "And don't even try to tell me you don't know her. Caroline told me all about your little friendship."

"Please don't tell me you're hooking up with Blondie." Damon whined.

"Don't change the subject on me." Stefan interrupted, running his hands through his dark brown hair causing it to stick up at weird angles. "God, she probably thinks I'm a psychopath! Yelling at her, calling her someone else's name." He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down. "Does Elena even know?"

"No Elena doesn't know and I would appreciate if you kept your mouth shut about anything else." Damon snapped, gritting his teeth. "I don't have any answers for her."

"But you'll tell her once you do?" Stefan asked, sliding down onto the couch. The worn brown leather let out a soft groan as he put his full weight down on it. "She's a nice girl, Damon."

Damon frowned, putting his glass to his lips again. He knew she was a nice girl. She was so nice in fact, that Damon had started lying about his conquests to keep anyone from realizing that he wasn't prowling for one night stands anymore. This whole time, knowing that she had been so close and he had to pretend that he didn't know had been slowly killing him. He wanted nothing more than to drive over to the farmhouse that sat so maddeningly close to his office window, with the roof line that sat peaking over the top of the hill the old plantation house sat on, visible from his desk chair.

"She even sounds like her." Stefan whispered. "How can she sound like her Damon?"

As much as Damon hated to admit it, Stefan had been hurt by Katherine's leaving too. Damon had always suspected that his brother had harbored an adolescent crush on her. Katherine had found teasing Stefan to be a fun past time, one which Damon tried to ignore. It took him a little time before he realized the impact of her leaving hadn't just shaken his life, but that of his brother too.

"I'm trying to find out, Stef. I don't have any answers yet, but I swear I will find out." The elder Salvatore replied, staring into the fire that glowed in the hearth. "Can you trust me on this?"

Stefan watched his brother for a long time. Damon knew that he was trying to process everything that had happened today. He obviously had a thing for Goldilocks, one that Damon didn't quite understand himself but he didn't have much of a leg to stand on at this point. Stefan was absolutely going to be judging him now, more than ever.

Finally, Stefan sighed and nodded in grudging acceptance. He stood without a word and headed upstairs to his room. _'Dear Diary'_ Damon's voice criticized in his head. He was sure this would make for a hell of an entry in his brother's diary. Reaching for the discarded tablet, he started typing a reply to Elena.

 ** _I'm always up for a drink. Since you're new to the neighborhood, why don't we meet up at my favorite spot? There's a great bar nearby called Ric's. I'll be there tomorrow night around 9pm if you and your friend feel like checking out the local nightlife._**

 ** _Damon_**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6! I'm so excited to be this far!**

 **Thank you so much to my reviewers! Both to my mysterious guest and to winterbabyalways. I love reading your thoughts and comments! To you and to anyone else that happens to feel like reviewing, please keep it up!**

 **Now on with Chapter 6 and some much needed fluff!**

* * *

Elena glanced around self-consciously, trying to take in her surroundings. When Damon had said he was going to be at a bar, Elena had pictured something completely different from what was now sitting in front of her. Ric's reminded her of their favorite local restaurant back home, the Mystic Grill. It was perched on the edge of the town square, an open sign glowing in the window and a large marquis perched on top of the building proclaiming the name for everyone to see.

"Well it doesn't look like a bad place." Caroline piped up next to her. She had insisted on coming with her. Elena wasn't sure if it was for moral support or plain curiosity, but she had to admit that she felt less nervous having her there.

She shivered, the slight chill in the air signaling that Spring wasn't ready to let go of it's hold on them yet. Elena looked down at her phone. 9:15pm. She hoped that it wouldn't make her seem overly eager that she was so close to being on time. She sucked in a breath and let Caroline lead her toward the building.

 **...X...**

"Tell me again. Why did you have to come with me tonight?" Damon asked, casting a sidelong glance at his brother. When Stefan had heard Damon was going to meet up with Elena he had forced his way into the evening. Damon was fairly certain it was partially due to the possibility that a certain blonde haired princess might tag along, but he'd kept his comments to himself.

"I want to make sure you kept your word. Elena is a nice person, and I need to make sure you aren't harassing her about Katherine in your quest for answers." Stephan replied twirling the ice in his glass.

"I'm almost positive I don't need a babysitter." Damon retorted, eyes narrowing in annoyance. "Besides I'm 99.999% sure that Elena has no idea who Katherine is."

"Well I'm pretty sure you need one." Stefan shot back. "Regardless of your confidence level."

Damon gulped his drink and grimaced. His nerves were playing tricks on his brain. He kept going over the different scenarios in his head, how he would react, how he would be the perfect gentleman. What he really wanted to do was run. The taste of bile in his throat made that option seem more and more appealing as the evening wore on. He also knew something that Stefan didn't. Klaus had a plan for Caroline and Elena and he had made it very clear he expected Damon to help him carry it out.

 _"So, how to fix this incredibly annoying problem?" Klaus asked with a voice that meant he already had an answer and wasn't looking for any input from Damon._

 _"What do you have in mind?" Damon asked cautiously. Like most of Klaus's schemes, he was pretty sure he didn't want to hear the answer to his question._

 _"Well, to take down an opponent you have to have a strategy. Prey on his weakness." Klaus responded, a mischievous smile curving at his lips. "In order to find a weakness you have to get close enough to see it."_

 _"So what does that have to do with me?" Damon continued, not liking the direction this was going._

 _"I need you to get close to dear Elena. Find out her weakness and see how we can exploit it to make her leave town." Klaus explained. "I, on the other hand, will work my charms on Ms. Forbes."_

 _Damon frowned. He wanted to get close to Elena, that much was true, but not as a means to Klaus's end. He still had too many questions and he wasn't ready to give her up to his calculating business partner._

 _"You don't need Elena to do that. Caroline is the mastermind in their business plans." Damon responded._

 _"I would suggest that you do as I say, Damon."_ _Klaus replied, sensing Damon's resistance. "Or you may just come up short in paying the contractor this month."_

 _Damon narrowed his eyes and swallowed hard. Finally, reluctantly, he nodded._

 _"Fine. But I do this my way, without interference." Damon responded._

 _"Just make sure that it's done."_

Damon took a deep slug of his drink to calm his nerves and looked down at his phone. 9:15pm. Maybe she wasn't coming. Stefan waiving to someone at the front door caught his attention. Looking toward the entrance of the restaurant, Damon felt his heart catch in his throat and he blinked to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Standing next to a tall, lithe, blonde bombshell, was Elena Gilbert.

 **...X...**

Alaric stood across the bar polishing a glass and trying his best to look indifferent. In reality, he was watching the proceedings with baited breath. He had seen photos of Elena, but nothing was quite like seeing her in person. Her resemblance to Katherine was beyond uncanny, it was downright creepy. From the shape of her waist to the color of her skin, if he hadn't seen the conflicted look on Damon's face when she walked in he would have sworn up and down that Elena and Katherine were the same person. There had to be a connection, but what was it?

He watched Stefan raise his hand in hello to the blonde standing beside Elena, and followed the pair as they crossed the room toward the Salvatore brothers. Alaric moved into hearing range.

"Hi Stefan! I didn't realize you would be here too." Caroline started, smiling at the younger Salvatore. He smiled back at her.

"It was a last minute request on my brother's part. He was a little nervous about meeting Elena." Stefan replied in a teasing voice.

"Right. You know me. Always the nervous one." Damon retorted, his patented smirk gracing his features. Alaric knew his friend only brought that out when he was feeling uncomfortable and wanted to appear in control. ' _This must really be throwing him for a loop.'_ Alaric thought to himself.

Suddenly the music changed to a slower song. He recognized it as "Kiss Me" by Ed Sheeran. Someone must have selected it on the Rockbot he had recently installed. Alaric watched Caroline give a longing look at the dance floor.

"Oh I love this song!" She explained dreamily. "Stefan would you indulge me?"

"I'm not really one for dancing." Stefan replied. Damon shot his brother a merciless grin.

"When a lady asks you to dance, you dance little brother. Have I taught you nothing?" Damon remarked, obviously enjoying making his brother squirm.

"OK. Lets go." Stefan agreed, casting a sidelong glance at his brother before extending his arm. Caroline smiled widely and let him lead her out to the dance floor.

Alaric smiled watching them go and turned his attention back to Damon and Elena. _'Please let this go well.'_

 **...X...**

"Hi." Damon spoke up, interjecting himself into Elena's thoughts of her friend and Stefan dancing. She jumped slightly before realizing who was talking to her.

"Hi." She mimicked, giving him a shy smile. He gestured to Ric with a nod.

"Would you like something to drink? You look nervous." Damon teased, causing her to relax slightly.

"Is it that obvious?" She asked, her smile widening. "I'll take a Moscato."

"Moscato. Can you handle that Ric?" He asked.

"Yes I think I can handle a simple glass of wine Damon. Though if you feel like fetching it yourself feel free." Alaric replied. Damon noticed he had filled the glass a little more than most people normally would.

"Ric owns the place." Damon explained to Elena. "He pretty much lets me do whatever I want because he's my bestest friend ever."

"I'm your only friend ever." Alaric retorted, sliding Elena her drink with a friendly smile and a wink.

"Touche." He answered raising his glass in salute before taking a long sip.

"I like your place." Elena offered, taking a sip of her own drink. "It reminds me of a place I used to frequent back home."

"I'm pretty proud of it." Alaric offered. "You're welcome anytime Elena."

Her eyes followed him as he made his way down the bar toward another customer, smiling as he mixed them a drink. Damon bumped his shoulder against hers in a casual, albeit deliberate, attention seeking move.

"So what do you think of Sycamore Creek so far?" He asked, his eyes drawn to her fingers as they unconsciously ran up and down the stem of her wine glass. He couldn't help but admire how great her legs looked in the jeans she was wearing, and watched intently as she wrapped her hand around the bowl of the glass and took another, longer, drink.

"The people seem friendly enough." She remarked, "But I haven't had much chance to get to know anyone yet. We've been working pretty hard on getting the house ready for business."

"So I've heard." He replied, running a finger along the brim of his glass. "You know, we are having a gala to honor the town's birthday next week. We usually hold a tea party at the Inn every year, but this year it's a big blowout extravaganza to celebrate the 250th year since the town's founding. Why don't you and Caroline come? You can meet some people, and who would want to pass up an opportunity to play dress up?" Damon explained, wiggling his eyebrows to elicit a giggle from her.

"That sounds fun. I'll have to let Caroline know about it." Elena remarked.

"Well it looks like we may need to use the jaws of life to separate them first." Damon gestured toward the couple on the dance floor. Elena smiled slightly, and he couldn't help but notice the glowing smile on Caroline's face as Stefan twirled her across the floor.

 **...X...**

Caroline was having the time of her life dancing with Stefan. It had been so long since she had felt this way about someone, much less been treated to something as simple as a dance. She could admit to herself that she should have been doing this all along instead of letting herself get ignored by Tyler, but she also realized that it could just be her dance partner that was causing these feelings to surface. She could feel goosebumps appear on her arms as Stefan pulled her in close. She placed her free hand on his chest and left her other hand in his grasp as they swayed to the music.

"You are such a lier by the way." Caroline teased, causing Stefan to frown.

"What did I lie about?" He asked, watching her intently.

"You said you weren't a dancer." She giggled. "But you're doing a pretty good job."

"I said that I wasn't a fan of dancing. Not that I couldn't." He replied, relaxing and smiling back at her.

"Technicalities." She replied. Her gaze drifted to the bar and toward Damon and Elena. She could see them laughing and talking. Elena seemed to be relaxing a bit. Caroline knew she had been worried about meeting Damon in person tonight. They had spent 2 hours putting together the perfect outfit for her to wear.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves." Stefan replied to her unanswered question, following her line of site.

"I hope so. Elena was so nervous about meeting your brother that she could barely hold her keys. I had to drive tonight." Caroline answered, watching the pair talk.

"She must like him a lot then." Stefan half questioned half stated. Caroline was confused by the concerned look on his face.

"What don't I know?" She asked him, cautiously. He frowned.

"It's a long story" Stefan warned.

"Well we have plenty of time. So try me."

 **...X...**

Two glasses of wine and about a dozen small talk topics later, Elena finally felt calm enough to function around Damon. She felt a little intimidated by the self assured way he carried himself, and by the look in his eyes when he talked to her. Like she was the only person in the room.

"So how did you end up winding up in our tiny town of Sycamore Creek anyway?" Damon asked.

"Well long story short I came to help Caroline start up her business. She's pretty excited about getting it up and running." Elena replied, watching his reaction. He seemed pensive, digesting the information.

"You know her pretty well huh?" He finally asked. Elena nodded.

"I've known Caroline since we were in elementary school. We were even on the high school cheer team together." She responded, coloring slightly at the surprised laugh that escaped Damon.

"You were a cheerleader? Blondie I get, but you do not seem the type." He replied. Elena laughed in response.

"Yeah I was pretty awful at it. Mom really wanted me to join, so it was fun for a while. At least until..." She trailed off, thinking about her parents. After they had died, the things she enjoyed just hadn't been as exciting anymore. She took a sip from her glass, trying to disguise her sudden sadness.

"What do you think they are talking about over there?" Damon asked, his face a little too close to her cheek as she turned to watch Caroline and Stefan. He had obviously noticed her lack of expression and was trying to get her to smile again. She tried to calm her racing pulse as she watched her friend and Stefan. They did indeed seem to be in a deep conversation, and both of them kept shooting glances at her and Damon. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought they were conspiring about something. But what?

"Probably just jealous that they aren't as drunk as us?" She replied, attempting to smirk. Damon laughed at her failed attempt and took a sip of his bourbon.

"That's not a good look for you. You're not jaded enough to pull it off yet." He chuckled.

"You don't know anything about me." Elena replied annoyed at how true the statement was and narrowed her eyes. He put his hands up in front of himself in defense.

"You're right. I don't." Damon replied, leaning in toward her, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "But I wouldn't mind learning."

Elena could feel the blush as it bloomed across her face. She put a hand to her cheek in an attempt to hide it, but only succeeded in drawing more attention to her features. Damon glanced at her lips before flicking his gaze back up to her eyes. He slowly pulled away from her. Elena tried to set her drink down, but in the process a small amount spilled out onto her jeans. She cursed and grabbed for the cocktail napkin, blotting at the dampness.

"I should go clean this up." She replied, practically dashing out of her seat in her quest to find the bathroom.

And some time to think.

 **...X...**

"So what your telling me is that Elena looks somewhat like Damon's old girlfriend and he hasn't said a word to her about it." Caroline asked, her anger mounting.

"That's what I've gathered so far." Stefan agreed.

"God what a complete ass!" Caroline replied, making a move to storm off the dance floor and toward the elder Salvatore and his companion. Stefan grabbed her arm to keep her from moving.

"You can't let Elena know any of this. Not yet." Stefan exclaimed, his voice a low warning growl that made Caroline freeze. "We don't have any answers as to why they look alike, and if you tell her before we can explain why you are just going to end up hurting her more."

Caroline stared at Stefan wide eyed, realizing the magnitude of what he was telling her. Slowly, she moved back toward his waiting arms to continue dancing, albeit with less excitement then before.

"Do you have any theories yet?" She asked, trying to wrap her head around the entire conversation that they were having. She didn't want her friend to get hurt, but she was curious about the implications of this mess.

"I know they have to be related, that much is pretty clear. But Damon is still trying to piece it all together. Once we have the entire story, we can figure out how to explain it to Elena." Stefan replied, frowning.

Caroline nodded. She wasn't happy with having to keep secrets from her friend, but she understood that there were questions that needed to be answered for everyone's sake.

"I will stay quiet, but you need to tell me what you find out, when you find it out. OK?" She asked. After a moment of thought, Stefan nodded.

"OK. I promise to keep you involved."

"Good. Now that that's settled, this song needs a little more enthusiasm with your dancing." Caroline remarked. Stefan smiled.

"Well we wouldn't want to disappoint now would we?"

 **...X...**

It had taken her a moment, but Elena had finally found the correct hallway to use the restroom. She wobbled slightly, having allowed herself to indulge in more alcohol then she had meant to. She could hear someone behind her and turned to see that Damon had followed her into the hallway.

He quietly stepped closer to her, never saying a word but keeping his blue eyes locked on her amber ones. She could feel his bourbon scented breath on her cheek, causing her skin to tingle. Elena's gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips and back to his eyes. She wasn't sure if she wanted to stay or run, but the wall against her back made it very clear to her that she had no choice in the matter. He leaned toward her, agonizingly slowly, his thumb stroking her cheek as he touched her lips with his own.

Elena had been on dates before, and kissed other guys before, but they were never like this. Damon was very gentle, but it was like she was kissing a caged tiger. She wondered what would happen if she pressed against him harder and encouraged his advances.

Unconsciously her hands wound their way into his hair, pulling his face closer to hers. She was hungry for more of his touch and was pleasantly surprised when she felt him clutching at her, his mouth opening and his tongue flicking against hers. Elena could feel herself melting into his touch, her breathing shallow. She heard Damon groan softly, almost a growl deep in his throat.

His hands slid to the base of her spine and a thrill raced through her. She moved closer to him, but before she could completely lose herself in their embrace he pulled back, pushing against her shoulders. His face was difficult to read, breathing coming out in short gasps.

"I shouldn't have done that." He breathed, "I'm sorry. I have to go."

He took a long hard look at her lips, his eyes flicking back up to hers. She could see the confusion in his gaze, the war he had going on in his mind. She didn't understand why, but before she could ask he was gone.

 **...X...**

A figure sat in the back of the restaurant clouded in shadow. The ice in the glass that sat on the table in front of him had long since melted but he didn't care. He was there to observe, not to drink. And his observations had served him well tonight. He watched Damon Salvatore fly out of the restaurant like a proverbial bat out of hell. Waiting a few minutes, he exited the building himself and pulled out his cell phone.

"Well?" Klaus asked on the other end of the line. "Did you find anything useful?"

"Oh yes. I know Elena's weakness, brother, and you're not going to believe how easy this is going to be."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 time! Welcome to all of my new followers and thank you for another wonderful review from winterbabyalways! Surprise for you, it wasn't Elijah. I promise he will show up later though. Any guesses on who it was at the bar?**

 **So this chapter is going to be a bit short this time. It's more of a filler chapter, but Chapter 8 is going to be big so please stay tuned! Reviews, Suggestions, and Comments are always loved! Please keep it up!**

* * *

Elena sat straight up in bed, her heart racing abnormally fast. She could still hear her voice being called, so softly, so affectionately. She'd been having the same reoccurring dream ever since that night she had finally met Damon. Every time, she woke up too early, and every time she felt as though her heart would burst right out of her chest.

Sighing, she flopped back onto the mattress. Her head hit the pillow with a soft plop. Elena curled her face into the silky fabric, hiding from the brightening sunlight. Caroline gave a yawn from across the room.

"I'm going to make you move into your own bedroom if you keep this up." She remarked, grumpily.

"I know, I'm sorry. I can't control my dreams you know." Elena commented back, staring at the ceiling.

"Maybe you should just talk to Damon about what happened and then I can finally stop listening to you talking in your sleep." Caroline offered. "You'll have the perfect opportunity at the Gala tonight."

"I told you I'm not going, regardless of the really pretty dress that's hanging in the closet." Elena responded, staring at the ceiling.

 _Caroline wiped at her forehead, sure that she was smearing more blue paint across her skin instead of removing it but she didn't care. At least the itchy, drippy, feeling stopped. She was just about to dip the brush back into the can when the doorbell rang. Curious, she set down her tools and grabbed a rag to clean herself up with._

 _A tall man with spiky brown hair stood on the front porch with a package in his hands. He flashed her a devilish smile._

 _"You must be Caroline." He remarked, surprising her with his foreign accent._

 _"Yes. That would be me. And you are?" Caroline asked curiously._ She had never seen him before, which made her particularly uneasy that he seemed to know her.

 _"Just a messenger for the moment. These are for you." He replied, handing her two wrapped boxes that had been fixed with brown string and a card. She accepted the packages, unsure of the meaning behind the delivery. The mysterious guest was already halfway to the sidewalk before Caroline thought to ask him who they were from._

 _Caroline moved back into the front hall and set the boxes down on the entry way table. Elena came bouncing down the stairs to meet her._

 _"Who was that?" The brunette asked, pulling her long hair into a ponytail. Caroline shook her head._

 _"He didn't say." She responded looking over the cards. "But he gave us these."_

 _Elena accepted one of the packages from her friend with a confused look. Caroline opened the envelope attached to her box, and began to read outloud._

 _"My dear Ms. Forbes. In light of the last minute invitation that was extended to both you and Ms. Gilbert, I felt that it was my duty to assist. I hope these gifts find you well. Sincerely, Klaus Michaelson"_

 _Caroline gave Elena an incredulous look and ripped the string off her box. Inside was a beautiful tiffany blue gown of satin overlaid with gauzy chiffon. The bodice was woven and ruched with a sweetheart neckline and thin shoulder straps. She unfolded it to the floor, and held it up. It was the perfect length,_ _not too short, but just long enough that, with a pair of heels, it would dust across the floor without causing her to trip. It was accented with a silver belt of reflective, diamond-shaped, gemstones._

 _Elena eagerly opened her box to find a honey colored, silk gown with a layer of lace covering the entire dress. It was also floor length, but the back was pure lace allowing her skin to show through. Off the shoulder sleeves of see-through lace completed the dress. She looked at Caroline stunned._

 _"These are for us?" Elena squeaked with excitement._

 _"I guess so." Caroline responded, rereading the card. "It was incredibly generous of Klaus to send this for us."_

 _"Incredibly creepy is more like it. How did he know our sizes?" Elena asked, giving the dress a suspicious look._

 _Caroline turned the gown over in her hands. It was absolutely perfect, but she had to agree with Elena that it was a bit unsettling that the dress was exactly her size. She shrugged, trying to wiggle out of the dark thoughts seeping into her mind._

 _"I'm sure he must have a personal shopper. That's probably who figured out our sizes anyway." She remarked, trying to sound casual._

 _"If you say so Caroline, but I think we need to keep an eye on Mr. Mikaelson." Elena replied, climbing the stairs to put her dress in their shared bedroom. "Even if he does have impeccable taste."_

"It would be poor manners not to go, after accepting such a nice gift." Caroline answered back, optimistically.

Elena groaned. She knew they should go. It would be good to meet more people and talk up the Inn, plus they didn't have the excuse of having nothing to wear now. She was just struggling with the idea of seeing Damon again. That kiss they had shared was so fresh in her mind, she didn't know how she would even try to talk to him about it.

"I agree. We deserve to have some fun." A voice called out as the door to their bedroom opened. Bonnie gave them both a huge smile. "That's why I brought an outfit so I can go too!"

"Bonnie!" They both cried out, jumping out of bed and running to give their friend a hug.

"I can't believe that any work has been getting done around here if the both of you are still in bed this late in the morning. Is this a common practice?" She teased the two, putting her bag on the ground and hugging her friends back.

"It's barely 8am Bon." Caroline remarked pouting slightly.

"I've been up since 6am. With the rest of the working world." Their dark skinned friend answered back.

"Speaking of working, how are you here? I thought you had a ton of work to do?" Elena asked, sitting back down on her bed.

"Grams told me to come. She said I needed to take a break, so I'm here for a little while." She replied, opening the closet and grabbing hangers to start unpacking. "Besides, when Caroline told me you were going to a fancy ball, I was super jealous."

"About that..." Elena started before Caroline shushed her.

"We are going." The blonde interrupted, giving Elena a look that dared her to say anything else.

"Good." Bonnie replied. "Because I need to meet these guys that have the two of you swooning so badly."

"Swooning is a strong word Bonnie" Elena added, earning a laugh from Caroline.

"You don't have much room to talk." Caroline added, giving her friend a mischievous smile. " Elena kissed Damon."

Bonnie's eyes widened as she looked at Elena with an incredulous grin. The brunette groaned and dove back into her pillow to hide from her friend's giggles.

"Looks like Grams was right. I have a lot of catching up to do!"

 **...X...**

Damon walked through the ballroom of the Inn and watched the volunteers drape the ceiling in twinkle lights and paper lanterns. He had been a little nervous about letting them climb on ladders, liability and all, but they seemed to be doing fine. Large family style tables were being covered with cream colored, floor length linens, and the high tops were being set up around the edges of the large dance floor with matching drapery.

The detail involved in the planning almost reminded him of a wedding and he made a mental note, once again, to thank the planners for all of their hard work. The whole Inn was coming together nicely. He was impressed with how well his staff members were behaving today. He had yet to hear any complaining coming from the banquet staff as of yet, but that could easily change at any moment.

He exited the french doors at the other end of the room and out onto the terrace patio where more paper lanterns were being hung from the trees. Klaus was sitting on a bench, drinking a glass of iced tea and monitoring the setup. Damon plopped down beside him.

"So what do you think?" He asked, nonchalantly. Klaus gave a shrug.

"It's lovely, for a townie party." He drawled.

"Snob much?" Damon asked, rolling his eyes.

"Have you spoken with Elena recently?" Klaus replied ignoring the comment. He plucked a glass from the waitress that had scurried up to him with a replacement drink.

"Why?" Damon asked cautiously.

"I was just curious if she was going to be attending the gala. Especially after I went out of my way to make her and Caroline feel like princesses and all." Klaus remarked with a smirk.

"What did you do?"

"I merely did a little shopping on their behalf." Klaus shrugged, taking a sip of his iced tea. "Though I do have to admit that I am anxious to see them in their new dresses. I'm sure they will both be ravishing"

"Well that's not incredibly creepy." Damon sarcastically shot back, frowning.

"Damon in order to achieve what you want in life, sometimes you must risk coming across as 'creepy'." Klaus replied. Damon snorted and nodded to the party planner as she waved to get his attention.

"If you'll excuse me." The elder Salvatore answered back, not waiting for Klaus to respond. Damon swore he could have heard Klaus mutter to himself as he left.

"Maybe you should try it sometime. Before you get into a situation you will seriously regret."

 **...X...**

"So you can't go?" Caroline pouted into the phone. Stefan sighed loudly on the other end of the line. She could almost picture him raking a hand through his hair.

"No I have to take care of Ms. Marshall's dog tonight. She accidentally left the door open and the dog ran out into the street and got hit by a car." Stefan replied.

"That's awful!" Caroline exclaimed. "Will it be alright?"

"I think he will be fine, but someone has to keep an eye on him. Lexi has a date and Doctor Black is currently in Georgia at a conference." Stefan explained. Caroline nodded into the phone trying to be patient and understanding, but all she could come up with was frustration.

"I was really hoping to see you in a tux tonight." She pouted.

"Were you now?" Stefan chuckled into the phone. "And who said this would be your only chance?"

Caroline blushed, opening and closing her mouth, trying to find words to respond. She caught a glimpse of her fish like reaction in the mirror and bit down on her lower lip to stop herself.

"Is that a promise?" She finally asked, hope fluttering in her stomach. She heard him laugh into the phone.

"It's a promise. Now go have some fun for me OK?" Stefan pleaded. Caroline nodded.

"I will do my best."

 **...x...**

Stefan sat at his desk sorting through the papers that covered it. If he had to be here at all, he might as well put his time to good use and catch up on some forms. Running a hand through his hair, he leaned back in his chair thinking about what he would rather be doing tonight. He was disappointed in his situation, but he couldn't leave the poor dog to run off with Caroline. It wasn't the dogs fault that they were in this situation anyway.

"What the hell are you doing?" a voice from behind him asked. It startled him so bad he almost fell out of his chair. Turning toward the speaker, he found Lexi standing behind him.

"What do you mean what am I doing? What are you doing?" Stefan demanded, standing up to face her.

"Well I am apparently rescuing you from yourself. Again." She scoffed, setting her purse down and taking off her coat.

"I thought you had a date?"

"I did. He was an ass. Now I'm here so you can go romance Caroline before Klaus gets to her." Lexi answered, sighing as if annoyed by his lack of understanding.

"What does Klaus have to do with my going to the Gala tonight?" Stefan blinked, confused.

"Are you really this blind? Or are you just ignorant? Klaus sent Caroline the dress that she's wearing to the Gala tonight. He's going to try and swipe her right out from under you, and God only knows what his end game is. I mean, it is Klaus." Lexi replied, practically trying to shove him toward the exit.

"Where did you hear that?" Stefan asked, his mind reeling from what she was saying. If Klaus really was trying to win Caroline's affections, he didn't think that it would be done with honest intentions.

"Everyone's talking about it." Lexi took a long look at Stefan. "I can't believe she didn't say anything to you."

"Well she'd said something about an odd delivery, but I was in a hurry and didn't get all the details." He replied, frowning. He should have asked. Why hadn't he asked?

"Alright Romeo. You're one step behind in this game, but I'm sure you can beat his score at the gala tonight." She winked at him. "Good luck!"

"Thanks." Stefan replied. He paused before adding, "Why do I suddenly feel like Cinderella?"

"You're not Cinderella, you're Prince Charming." Lexi explained. "Now get out of here before I turn you into a pumpkin!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Happy New Year everyone! I've been very busy with my new job so I apologize for making you wait so long for this newest installment, but I promise it's a good one.**

 **I've realized that no song explains Delena to me better than "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri (yes I know it was written for Edward and Bella, no I don't care, Damon is 62 years older than Edward (following the TV timeline) so I think they can share. Respect your elders Edward). I listened to it over and over while writing this chapter since it's the song I chose for Elena and Damon to dance to. To hear the version I'm imagining this to, check out the piano/cello duet by thepianoguys on youtube.**

 **Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. I love hearing your thoughts!**

* * *

Caroline held her breath as she stared up at the Grand Marble columns of Oak Ridge. She felt like Scarlett O'Hara, her favorite heroine, walking through the front gates of Twelve Oaks for the first time. It was awe inspiring, and she could understand why it was one of the highlights of the town. Weeping pink cherry trees lined the gravel drive, their drooping branches waving softly in the light breeze, perfuming the air around them.

"This is amazing." Bonnie remarked from beside her. Her dark skinned friend had chosen a smokey grey ensemble with a half up-do to accompany her friends. Even in a town as keen on functions as Mystic Falls, Caroline couldn't remember the last time all of them had been together and dressed to the nines. It was a good feeling.

"It's Damon's old family homestead." Elena chimed in from Caroline's other side. "They owned it before the Civil War. He said his family has worked really hard to restore it over the past century."

They made their way up the brick staircase toward the open double, glass, front doors. The sounds of music and chatter poured out into the evening. A familiar voice greeted them at the entrance.

"There they are, such beautiful ladies here to grace us with their smiles." Klaus remarked as the trio made their way into the building. Caroline gave her best "Miss Mystic Falls" curtsy.

"Good Evening Klaus. Thank you for the dresses. It was completely unexpected." She replied. Klaus waved his hand in front of his face, the other held firmly behind his tuxedo clad back.

"Think nothing of it. Dresses as spectacular as these need the perfect canvas. I knew you would provide one." He answered, the corners of his lips turning up in a smile. Caroline wasn't sure, but she could sense there was some other meaning hidden in his watchful gaze. He looked away before she could sort it out.

"Well thank you anyway." Elena interjected, reaching for a glass of champagne that had been offered to her by one of the white gloved staff members.

"The only thing I ask is a turn to dance with each of you this evening." Klaus remarked smoothly. He nodded to someone behind them trying to flag his attention. "If you'll excuse me for now."

Caroline followed him with her eyes as he moved onto the porch. She leaned in toward Elena.

"That's the guy that brought the dresses!" She hissed. Bonnie leaned in toward them

"What is it?" She asked, curious.

"Caroline thinks the guy that Klaus is talking to is the same guy that delivered the boxes our dresses came in." Elena explained.

"You mean Caroline knows it's the same guy." The blonde interrupted, scowling. She took a sip of her champagne but her eyes never left the two men that seemed to be quietly arguing off in the corner. Elena grabbed onto her friends arm and started to pull her away from the doorway.

"Let's go take a look around. You can play mystery detective later." Elena remarked, her gaze locked on something inside the inn. Caroline caught sight of a dark haired man in a tuxedo just around the doorway into the dining room. He was watching Elena, and gave her a small smile before disappearing into the crowd.

"Oh yeah, I know why you want to 'take a look around'." Caroline giggled.

"Was that Damon? The guy that smiled at Elena?" Bonnie whispered. Caroline nodded and Bonnie frowned. "Tonight just keeps getting more and more interesting."

 **...X...**

Damon had been discussing the plans for the inn expansion with the mayor when Elena and her friends entered the foyer. She looked almost ethereal in her golden gown, the lace letting just enough skin show through. He felt his breath catch, his voice trailing off mid sentence. The man he was speaking with turned and looked, curious.

"Those must be the newest residents, I've heard so much about." He remarked. Damon nodded his head slightly.

"Yes. Miss Forbes has been working to remodel the old Schuler farmhouse into a Bed and Breakfast." Damon remarked.

"Young entrepreneurs bringing more business to the town. How wonderful! I must go say introduce myself" He gave Damon a smile. "If you'll excuse me Mr. Salvatore."

Damon nodded and watched as the older man made his way toward the girls. Of course he would be interested in the young girls that had made the town their home. The Mayor was well known for his womanizing. Damon wasn't worried though, he had no doubt those girls could take care of themselves. Not that it meant he would be keeping less of an eye on them though.

He caught Elena's gaze and smiled softly, enjoying how her expression lit up at his gesture. He would have plenty of time to speak with her later that evening, but first he needed another drink to help calm his suddenly fragile nerves. He moved toward the bar and waited while the bartender fixed his bourbon.

He watched a dark haired woman saunter up to the bar beside him. Her smoke colored gown brushed across the floor as she moved.

"Three moscato's please." She asked the bartender.

"Starting the night on the right foot I see." Damon remarked, smirking. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"They're not all for me, if that's what you're insinuating." The girl replied, her lips pursed together in a slight frown. Damon shook his head.

"I'm joking. But then again maybe you do need all three." He retorted, grabbing for the glass that had been set on the counter in front of him. "You could use some loosening up."

"You're a riot." She replied, drumming her fingers on the bar top in exasperation. "I can see why Caroline feels the way she does about you."

Recognition passed across Damon's mind as he realized that he had seen her come in the building just moments earlier.

"You must be Bonnie." Damon remarked, his eyes narrowing slightly. His grin didn't quite reach his eyes.

"And you're Damon." She stated simply. "This is just a warning for your own good. If you hurt my friends you deal with me. Do you understand?"

"There's no reason to get all protective, little miss Judgy." Damon responded with his hands up. "I don't plan to hurt anyone."

"That's the problem with people like you though. Wither you plan to do it or not it still happens." Bonnie retorted, one eyebrow creeping up her forehead. "And it will not happen to Elena. Not on my watch. Understood?"

"I got it." He answered, frowning.

"If you'll excuse me. I have a party to enjoy." Bonnie remarked, nodding and apparently content with his response. Damon glowered after her retreating form, not sure if he was more upset with her accusation, or how close to home she had actually hit.

 **...X...**

"Were you successful?" Klaus asked his brother. The night was coming together well, and he hoped that it would be an eventful experience for everyone. Certainly one that no one would be forgetting anytime soon. He had to admit that Caroline did look exquisite in the gown he had chosen for her. He felt the tiniest bit bad about what he was about to do tonight, but not enough to put a stop to his plan. He would just have to enjoy what little time he had with the blonde beauty before his guest made her appearance.

"Very. I expect tonight will be a very exciting night for everyone." The shorter man remarked, an evil grin on his face. "You should know, however that Elijah is not happy with your toying with his fiance in such a manner."

"I will deal with Elijah, Kol, you keep an eye on the crowd. We wouldn't want anyone to leave before the main event." Klaus remarked. Kol smirked.

"I do love toying with the locals. It's so much fun. Don't you agree brother?"

"They do make it too easy." Klaus replied, nodding. handing his empty champagne glass to a nearby server, he straightened his coat and turned to head back into the house. "If you'll excuse me. I have a dance to attend."

 **...X...**

The band came back from their break and grabbed their instruments, preparing to start playing again. Elena could feel Damon's eyes, and turned to find him moving toward her. He looked incredibly handsome in his tailored tux, the shirt hugging his toned chest. She smiled shyly as he gave her a small bow and extended his hand.

"I would be honored if you would dance with me Ms. Gilbert." He announced. Elena could see a roguish grin playing at his lips as he spoke, cluing her into the joke he was playing. She curtsied to him. It was hard to say no to someone as charming as Damon.

"It would be my pleasure Mr. Salvatore." She replied, taking his hand with her own.

The band began to play slowly. She could hear the cello chime in and begin its low buzzing, but it could only rival the buzzing in her own head. Her heart quickened and her skin tingled where his hands landed. She followed Damon's sure steps, letting him glide her across the dance floor. It felt like it had been ages since he had last held her, even though it had only been a few days.

"You look absolutely stunning." Damon remarked leaning into her ear, and causing her to blush softly. The warmth of his hand traveled through the thin lace on the back of the dress giving her goosebumps.

"You should thank your friend Klaus. He had it delivered to the house for me to wear tonight." She replied offhandedly. Damon shook his head.

"A dress is just a dress, but the way you wear it is what really brings it to life." He remarked, the thin lines around his eyes deepening with his captivating smile.

He stepped away to give room for her to spin. When she finished twirling, his hand returned to her back and pulled her in closer than she had been before. Elena tried to control her breathing so she didn't give away what his close proximity was doing to her. His eyes connected with hers, and she thought for a moment that he would kiss her like he had at their last meeting.

 **...X...**

Caroline followed her partner's steps as he moved them across the floor. She had expected that Klaus would be a good dancer, but hadn't realized just how flawless his movements would be. She felt like she were dancing with a well trained lion, graceful and polite but with the possibility of an attack at any moment. She watched Damon and Elena dancing nearby. The twinkle lights suspended along the ceiling cast a radiant glow around the room, giving an air of romance to the event. The light twinkled off Elena's earrings as she twirled.

"I see Damon is starting tonight off well." Klaus observed, following her gaze. "I hope this doesn't reflect poorly on him later."

"What are you talking about?" Caroline asked, suspicious.

"Don't tell me our dear friend Stefan hasn't explained Damon's hidden secret to you." Klaus remarked.

"If you're talking about Katherine, I already know about her." Caroline replied, annoyance threading through her words. She was beginning to regret accepting his offer to dance. If only Stefan had been able to make it tonight.

"Did he tell you everything about Katherine though? About her connection to Elena I mean." Klaus answered, a sly grin spreading across his features.

"I don't understand. What does Katherine have to do with Elena?" Caroline retorted, confused and uncertain she actually wanted an answer. Klaus shook his head.

"All in good time my dear." He stopped moving and bowed, extracting himself from her near the edge of the dance floor. "Thank you for the dance. Your company was, as always, wonderful."

Bowing, Klaus kissed her hand. She could see the hint of a self satisfied smile gracing his lips. Her mind reeled. What could he possibly be planning and what did it have to do with Elena?

 **...X...**

"I haven't been avoiding you." Elena blurted, unsure of why she hadn't been able to explain her feelings better. Damon nodded.

"I know. I haven't been avoiding you either." He replied, his hand tightening on her back as he spoke.

"That kiss was..." She started

"Amazing." He finished, his eyes narrowing with the smile that lit up his face.

"Why did you leave like that?" Elena asked, the hurt apparent in her voice. Damon sighed softly, his smile faltering.

"I have something I need to talk to you about." He grimaced. "I'm not sure how to start exactly."

"I'm not going to stake you, if that's what you're concerned about." Elena replied with a giggle. Damon's concerned gaze made her frown.

"Well actually you might." They had stopped moving and he looked around the dance floor. "We should talk in private though. Not here."

Damon grabbed Elena's hand in his and pulled her across the room. Threading through the crowd, he made his way toward the front door. He moved to pull her toward a door behind the front desk before stopping abruptly. Elena had to put a hand on his back or she would have plowed him right over. Both of their eyes were glued to a figure walking through the front door.

 **...X...**

Stefan had raced home from work to clean up and dress. He had to admit to himself that he was more excited than he had anticipated at the idea of going to the gala, the first time in years he had any desire to go. He knew the reason was a certain blonde haired beauty, but he wasn't sure if he was quite ready to admit that to her yet.

Strolling up the walkway to the inn, he straightened his tie and ran a hand through his unruly dark brown hair. No matter how many of these things he was forced to attend, he still found himself incredibly uncomfortable and awkward in a suit.

Up ahead he could see Elena standing on the porch, her shimmering black dress glowing in the lamplight. He raised a hand in greeting and sped up to catch her. She turned to enter the building before he reached the top of the stairs, oblivious to his attempt to gain her attention.

Stefan hadn't realized quite how wrong he had been until he looked past the woman in front of him and saw his brother and a ghostly white Elena standing in the hall. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he watched the scene before him, dumbfounded.

 **...X...**

Elena's mind had gone completely blank, her entire being focused on the woman that stood before them in the entryway to the inn. Her long, perfectly curled, brunette hair cascaded across her shoulders with expertly practiced precision. Elena could feel Damon stiffening beside her, his hold on her hand tightening into an almost unbearable grip. His body practically vibrated with agitation. With a cross between a sigh and a growl he acknowledged their new companion.

"Hello Katherine."


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy Spring Everyone! I can't believe it's already May. I had planned to get this chapter out much earlier than now, but life and a new baby intervened. I'm hoping to focus a little more on my stories while I'm on Maternity leave, but we will see how that goes!**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please share any thoughts you may have on the story. I love reading your comments! If you are in need of some Delena goodness, feel free to check out my short story, Fifty Shades of Elena Gilbert. It is rated Mature, so make sure you're ready for some lemony goodness if you do read it!**

 **And now, on with the story!**

Damon hadn't realized that a person could simultaneously feel as though their skin was going to melt from the boiling fever raging through his blood, and that their entire being was frozen to the core. Katherine Pierce was the one person that could set his soul on edge with a single glance. He had vowed, one drunken and rain soaked night, that if he ever saw her again it would be in hell. To be confronted with her, in this way, in this place, was enough to make him angrier than he ever thought possible.

The worst of it was how completely he knew who had set this entire meeting in motion.

"Hello Katherine." He intoned, hoping to curb the malice in his words. She smiled at him, her signature self-assured smirk. Damon felt himself struggling to keep from shaking it from her blood red lips.

"Really Damon, I would have expected a more enthusiastic greeting. Especially from you." Katherine replied, smiling and tossing her meticulously curled hair.

"Sorry. Soul sucking leaches don't warrant much of my time." He retorted. One of her eyebrows shot up in feigned surprise.

"Ouch. Such unnecessary anger."

"I think you know better than to expect a warm, fuzzy welcome from me, Katherine." Damon replied. He looked down at Elena, her eyes wide and confused as she followed their back and forth banter. "I don't know why you're here, but I'm not all that interested in finding out."

"Oh Damon, Damon, Damon." Katherine reproved. "I hardly believe that you are that clueless as to why I'm here. I mean, when I heard that our dear, sweet Elena had been entertaining you, I just had to come see for myself." Her eyes roamed over her doppelganger with a passive glance. Damon stepped forward, slightly in front of Elena, as if to shield her with his own body.

"Leave her alone Katherine. There's no need to involve her in anything." Damon pled through gritted teeth. Katherine laughed, a tinkling sound with an eerie undercurrent that could only come from a place of malicious intent.

"She's always been involved Damon. Even before she knew about any of this." The brunette replied. "She is my twin sister after all."

 **…X...**

Elena felt sick to her stomach. Everything she could see seemed to move in slow and disjointed motion, as if she were in a flip book. Watching the woman before her was oddly like watching herself in a mirror, only she had no control over this image. It had become sentient, and stared back at her with a look of amusement.

She could feel her hand starting to throb and wiggled her fingers to get the blood to flow back into the tips. Damon jolted slightly, as if suddenly reminded of his hold on her, and relaxed his grip from the bone crushing tension that it had become. He gave her a small, reassuring squeeze and she breathed deep trying to calm herself.

"I've never met you before in my life." Elena heard herself say, "So why should I believe that you are even remotely related to me."

"You can hardly deny that we have some kind of connection, Elena" Her mirror self retorted. "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

"Really? That's what you come up with?" Damon snorted, "Very original."

"I thought it sounded incredibly fitting." Katherine replied shrugging. She began to glide her way over toward them, her movements practiced and sure. The light caught her dress with every step, causing it to shimmer like dark water. "And it absolutely has a certain ring of fact to it. Besides, it's not like you didn't know."

Elena couldn't seem to get her thoughts together, the room spun and the lights seemed to dim but she kept herself upright. What did Damon know that he hadn't told her. Had he known all along? He must have known something. There was no way that the likeness between her and Katherine could have been overlooked.

What wasn't he telling her?

 **...X...**

Stefan stood in the doorway of the Inn watching the interactions between the three people inside. He was afraid to move, for fear that he would be brought into the fray. Caroline stood opposite him inside the foyer, staring back at him with wide eyed apprehension. The blue dress she had on looked absolutely perfect on her, hugging every curve. Inwardly he hated that Klaus was able to give her things that he couldn't, like this beautiful dress, but that didn't mean he shouldn't enjoy the view.

He felt the desire to move toward her, to put his arm around her. To comfort her in some way. But the look of betrayal that crossed her face cemented his feet to the floor.

He knew exactly what she was thinking, and he mentally kicked himself for not telling her the whole truth. The resemblance between Katherine and Elena wasn't just a fleeting, possibility. It was picture perfect. The idea that they could be twins had surfaced in his mind more than once, and he hated himself for not listening to his intuition. He just hadn't wanted it to be true, and in doing so, had essentially convinced himself that it was impossible. How could Elena not be aware that she had a twin sister if that was really the case?

He had a lot of explaining to do to Caroline, if she would even let him explain. First though, he had to talk to his brother. What the hell had Damon been thinking?! God what a mess this was becoming.

Somewhere deep in his gut, Stefan knew that Klaus must have something to do with this. But why?

 **...X...**

Through her swirling emotions, Elena heard her disconnected voice finally speak.

"What do you mean sister?" She asked, careful to keep her voice from cracking under the strain. Katherine's gaze flicked from Damon to Elena and her eyes narrowed in amusement.

"You didn't really think that Miranda and Grayson were actually your parents, did you? I mean, you look nothing like them." She cackled. "It was so kind of them to take you in though, when mom decided she didn't want you. They really were sickeningly nice people."

Elena clenched and unclenched her hand, working through the meaning that lay behind her doppelgangers words. She didn't appreciate the malice that Katherine placed on her parents' names, or the way she practically spat them out of her mouth. She obviously never knew the people that she so vehemently disliked, or Elena would have known about it, right? Katherine was just trying to bate her. For what reason, Elena didn't know. Maybe jealousy, or possibly something else entirely.

"Leave her alone Katherine, you have no reason to lash out at Elena." Damon growled from beside her. Elena's heart flipped in surprise. She had almost forgotten he was still there. She could see Stefan standing in the doorway, just over Katherine's shoulder. They had to have known about this. How could they have kept it from her?

"Really Damon. I'm not the one that kept secrets from her." Katherine replied, echoing Elena's own thoughts. "How cruel do you have to be to stab her in the back like that? Letting her think you're actually interested, but knowing all along that it was a complete lie."

"You would know." Damon retorted, his eyes glowing with homicidal rage.

"Was it really a lie?" Elena asked softly, her eyes filling despite herself. She could see the torment in Damon's face as he struggled with how to respond. Elena shook her head, pulling away from him.

"Elena just give me a minute to explain." Damon answered, the desperation evident in his voice as he realized what her reaction meant.

"I need to get out of here." She responded, breathing heavily. Her eyes darted wildly as she searched for an exit.

Bonnie appeared as if from nowhere and forced her way between the two of them, having obviously realized what was happening. She glowered at Damon, and grabbed onto Elena. Pulling her away from the scene, they disappeared past Stefan's frozen form and into the darkness.

 **...X...**

Caroline was angry. Actually, she was extremely far beyond the realm of angry. She was livid. And doing the only thing she knew how to do when her emotions reached boiling point, she spoke up.

"You three need to tell me what the hell is going on here." She spat, her murderous gaze resting on each Salvatore individually and finally ending on the carbon copy of her best friend. "And I mean now."

Damon nodded slowly. Glancing back toward the party, he gestured toward the locked office door he had been leading Elena when they had been intercepted. The others followed close behind, Caroline taking up the rear. As soon as everyone was inside, she shut the door. Hard.

"Talk." She demanded, looking over her captives. If this had been another time, she would have been in awe of the view from Damons office. The sky was alight with stars, twinkling in through the floor to ceiling windows. She choked down a feeling of jealousy and focused her attention on the group in front of her.

"Don't look at me. I'm not the one that's been lying to a poor innocent girl." Katherine started, frowning.

"Cut the crap Katherine." Damon practically snarled. "Why are you even here?"

"I was invited." She replied, smiling sweetly.

"And your fiancé? Where is he?" Damon remarked, sarcasm dripping at his use of the word fiancé.

"Elijah couldn't come tonight. He's away on business." Katherine responded.

"Obviously, he doesn't know about the little game you're playing, since we all know how thrilled he would be to find you working with his little brother." Stefan chimed in.

Caroline put her fingers to her temples in a vain attempt at keeping the creeping migraine that was forming in her head to a minimum. Throwing her palms out, she opened her mouth to interrupt.

"Sorry to put a damper on the reunion." She remarked, "I don't really give a damn why you're here, but you need to explain your connection to my friend Elena."

Katherine frowned slightly, a dark look crossing behind her eyes, before composing herself and shrugging.

"Long story short? When Mom left town, she could only take one of us. I was obviously the better choice, so she left Elena with the man you know as Uncle John. I like to call him Dad." Katherine ran the thumb on her right hand under one of her nails, and raised an eyebrow. "Since dear old dad was so ill equipped to take care of a needy daughter like Elena, he left her with his brother and sister-in-law. Mr. and Mrs. Grayson and Miranda Gilbert."

"Wait... You're telling me that Elena's Uncle John is actually her biological father?" Caroline practically spat the name in disgust. _How had they not known about any of this?_

"You're a quick one, aren't you?" Katherine replied. "Please keep up. I don't like repeating myself."

"Fine." Caroline retorted. "Anything else you want to add?"

Katherine tapped her red lips with a finger for a moment and shook her head.

"No I think that's about it. Now if you'll excuse me." She sashayed over to the office door and pulled it open. "I have people waiting to see me, and they are much better company than the three of you."

With that, she disappeared out into the music filled hallway. The remaining occupants looked at each other with a mix of astonishment, regret, and anger. Caroline wasn't sure which to admonish first, her anger toward Stefan's lack of communication and disgust at Damon's handling of her friend's emotions overwhelming her senses.

"Caroline, we should talk about this." Stefan remarked, taking a step toward her. She shook her head and stepped backward toward the door.

"I'm not sure which of you I am angrier with right now, but what I do know is I have a very confused best friend at home that I need to talk to before I even try to figure the two of you out." Caroline finally responded, small lines forming around her eyes from the level of anguish spewing from her gaze. Without a word from either Salvatore, she spun on her heal and marched out of the room. She had more important places to be.

 **...X...**

Elena sat on the couch, staring mindlessly into the unlit fireplace. She couldn't seem to wrap her mid around what had happened tonight. Her entire world had just been shaken to the core. Bonnie breezed into the room with a cup of what Elena could only guess what. Her dark-skinned friend handed the perfumed drink to her with a strained smile.

"Gram's recipe. It should help clear your mind a little." She sighed, sitting down next to Elena. "I can't even imagine what must be going on in your head right now."

Elena nodded, and dutifully took a sip of the concoction. Of the herbal remedies that Bonnie's Grams had unleashed on the girls though their life, this one wasn't half bad. It had a slightly sweet aftertaste, which did in fact help lift her spirits some.

The back door slammed, signaling Caroline's arrival before she entered the half-painted parlor. The blonde's face twisted in anguish, looking at her defeated friend.

"Elena, are you ok?" Caroline asked, dropping into one of the high-backed chairs. "That was a stupid question. Of course, you're not ok. God, I could kill Damon right now."

"What did he tell you?" Elena demanded, setting her mug on the glass coffee table in front of her.

"I think now might not be the best time." Caroline replied frowning. "You've just had a nasty shock. We should talk more once you've had some time to process."

"I can process better with all of the facts." Elena argued, the set of her jaw telling Caroline that this argument was not going to be easily won. The blonde sighed and nodded.

"Please remember that I'm just the messenger alright?" She replied. Elena stared at her, waiting, and Caroline cleared her throat. "Well, you were there when Katherine said that you were adopted by your parents." Elena rewarded her with a small nod. "It turns out that Uncle John is your biological father, and he asked your parents to adopt you because he wasn't sure he was cut out for the job."

"Uncle John?" Elena responded, shocked. Of all the people she could imagine as her father, he was the absolute last person that she had pictured. No wonder he had fought Jenna so hard when her parents had died. Did Jenna know? Did Jeremy? If they did, how could they have kept something this big from her? She had so many questions that needed to be answered, and every answer she received brought even more questions.

"Oh my god." Bonnie remarked from her spot on the couch. "How did they keep this a secret for so long?"

"An even better question is how Damon thought Elena wouldn't find out that his ex-girlfriend was her identical twin. I mean, with a resemblance like that, how could he not have known? What a jerk!" Caroline erupted, "I knew I should have confronted Damon when Stefan told me about Katherine but I never could have realized how much of a total scumbag he really was."

"You knew about Katherine?" Elena asked, her head snapping up to meet Caroline's gaze.

"Well I knew of her." Caroline answered, obviously perplexed by her accidental slip of the tongue. "Stefan asked me not to say anything until he knew more."

"But you still didn't tell me." Elena fumed. "You knew and you let me be completely ambushed by that woman."

"I didn't know this would happen and we didn't want to upset you until we knew all the details." Caroline dodged, attempting to calm her friend. "I didn't even realize how bad this whole thing was until I saw Katherine tonight."

"You should have told me." Elena answered, tears in her eyes. "A friend would have said something."

She stood and retreated up the stairs without a second glance.

 **...X...**

Bonnie and Caroline winced as the bedroom door slammed a few minutes later. Bonnie sighed.

"I can't believe you didn't tell her." She remarked.

"Not you too Bonnie." Caroline answered, exasperated. "I didn't want to upset her without knowing all the facts."

"I understand why you think you shouldn't have said anything." Bonnie replied. "But that doesn't make anything better."

"I know." The blonde answered, pulling the pins out of her hair and letting it fall across her shoulders. "So what do we do now?"

"First we have to fix things between you and Elena." Bonnie quipped, kicking off her shoes and stretching. "Then we figure out how to help Elena with all of this news."

"It gets worse." Caroline cringed, thinking about her conversation in the office.

"How could it possibly get worse?" Bonnie asked.

"Klaus arranged for Katherine to be there tonight." Caroline answered, her frown deepening. "He wanted to throw us off balance and upset Elena."

"That's awful! Why would he do something like that?" Her dark-haired friend responded, appalled.

"Because, as it turns out, my decision to open this place as a Bed and Breakfast, meant that Klaus didn't get to buy it like he wanted." The blonde answered. "I've been hearing rumors about it for weeks now, but tonight finally confirmed it for me. Klaus is the type that is used to getting what he wants."

"It sounds like we have our work cut out for us." Bonnie finally remarked. "I'll grab the ice cream, and then I think we need to go upstairs and explain all this to Elena."

"I hardly think that ice cream is going to make things better between Elena and me. I lied to her." Caroline retorted.

"I'm sure it won't, but it's a good place to start. Besides, she has other people to focus her anger on right now. We just have to remind her of that." Bonnie answered before marching into the kitchen for supplies. Caroline sighed and moved to follow her.

"Here's hoping."


	10. Chapter 10

**So excited for this new chapter! I have been holding onto parts of this for way too long, and I'm so glad that my characters finally complied with me. Sorry for the long wait on this next installment, life is a little crazy so I unfortunately don't have a set posting schedule, but I appreciate all of you for hanging on and thank you so much for the well wishes! I think all my Steroline shippers are going to be pretty happy with this chapter so enjoy!**

Caroline took a deep breath when she noticed the tall, brown haired man stepping out of the red mini cooper in her driveway. She was still upset with Stefan for what had happened at the party and not just for the fact that he had lied to her. All the lies had put her in a very difficult place with Elena, one that Caroline did not like in the least. Knowing that she had violated her best friend's trust made her heart ache. Worse than that, Caroline had no idea how to make it up to her.

"Go away Stefan." She practically shouted, letting the venom she felt seep into her voice. A small part of her felt better seeing him wince at her reaction, but most of her felt even more miserable.

"Caroline would you please just talk to me? You've been dodging my calls for days now." He pleaded with a frown.

 _'God how can he look so cute when he's such an ass?'_ Caroline thought to herself, looking up at him from her kneeling position next to patch of weeds. _'It's like kicking a puppy.'_ Slowly, she stood up, wiping her dirt covered hands on her cut offs.

"Are you going to lie to me again? Cause if you are, I'm busy." She snapped, though her voice had softened a little. She could see Stefan brighten as her voice lost it's edge.

"Look I'm sorry I left out a few details..." He started.

"A FEW details?" She replied, incensed. "Try, the most important details!"

"Ok ok you're right. They were pretty big details. I know I messed up, but I honestly don't know how to make things better here." Stefan replied, raking a hand through his mussed up hair.

"I don't either." She replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "You made me lose Elena's trust. Do you realize how hard that is for me? We haven't had a fight like this since we were 8. She lent me her favorite glitter lip gloss and I lost it. We didn't speak for a month, and this is about a hell of a lot more than lip gloss this time."

"I'm sure Elena will forgive your part in this. You were almost in the dark as much as she was." Stefan replied trying to help.

"I would have to talk to her first, which is really hard to do when she's in Mystic Falls and won't answer any of my calls, texts, or emails." Caroline answered, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Everything felt so wrong, so completely not how she had imagined it would be.

She closed her eyes to swipe at the tears, and felt warm strong arms envelope her into a hug. Stefan felt so solid, so incredibly... right. For a moment she forgot why she had been upset in the first place. He pulled back to look at her, his hands reaching to cup her cheeks.

"She can't possibly stay mad at you forever." He replied, his face close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheek. She could sense her resolve slipping with every beat of her racing heart. Her eyes darted to his lips, tracing their shape in her mind. Glancing back up she noticed his heated gaze resting on her. She could feel her chest seize with nervous excitement.

Slowly, he lowered his head and captured her mouth with his own. Her mind went blank. She felt like she was floating.

Caroline threaded her fingers through Stefan's hair, her body melting into his. His hands were everywhere; in her hair, pulling her against his firm chest, running along the sides of her face. Her lips parted to allow access for his tongue and its slow dance with her own. She heard a soft moan float through the air, vaguely acknowledging that it had come from her own lips. Realization suddenly dawned on her and Caroline pulled away as reality smacked her across the face.

"We can't do this." She replied, clearly out of breath. Stefan pulled her in closer and leaned his forehead against hers.

"When then?" He panted.

"After I fix things with Elena. I can't feel good about us until I can put this behind me." She replied. Unable to help herself, she reached up and planted a soft kiss on his lips. He sighed as she pulled away and nodded.

"I'll be here."

 **...X...**

Damon took a sip of the dark amber bourbon in his glass, savoring the sweet burn of the liquid as it ran down his throat. The fire had burned down to embers long ago, casting short shadows on the wall around the fireplace. He found himself sorting through that night for what was probably the hundredth time. ' _God I'm an idiot.'_ He thought sourly. _'Why was I so afraid to say anything to her for so long?_ '

If only Katherine has been just a few seconds late.

He heard his brothers footsteps on the wood floor of the living room. Stefan had never been good at sneaking up on Damon. He was always able to detect his presence, regardless of how quiet Stefan thought he was being.

"Are you here to yell at me again? Cause you'll have to excuse my lack of enthusiasm with your problems, Stefan."

"You are an idiot. Do you realize that?" Stefan growled, anger threading into his voice. "And your stupidity is putting me in a very awkward place with Caroline right now."

"Oh so Blondie IS involved. No wonder you seem to give a damn about my life." Damon snorted, frowning at the emptiness of his glass. "And here I thought we might actually be bonding over something."

"If you had just told Elena the truth, none of this drama would be happening right now. You realize that this whole situation is your fault."

"I think you're forgetting that you were very much on board with this plan before it all went south baby bro. I wouldn't want to hog all the credit." Damon retorted. Stefan frowned and ran a hand through his hair, telling Damon just how truthful his remark was in much better terms than any words could. Damon sighed. "I was just about to tell her when Katherine showed up. I didn't want this anymore than you."

"Just figure out how to fix it." Stefan answered, his voice softening. "Please."

Damon nodded, absentmindedly turning his empty glass back and forth in his hand before setting it on the coffee table. He noticed that Stefan hadn't moved.

"What?" He asked without looking up. He heard Stefan sigh.

"Are you ok?" His younger brother asked. Damon dreaded seeing the concern that he was sure would be on Stefan's face when he looked up. Standing, he reached for the decanter to refill his sad little glass.

"Just peachy little bro. Why?"

"It's just... somethings been up with you lately. You've been snarkier, if that's even possible, and Klaus has been around a lot lately." Stefan stopped and exhaled loudly. "Did something happen?"

 _'Oh here we go.'_ Thought Damon sourly, _'He's overdue for a self righteous speech.'_ He met Stefan's searching gaze with a shrug, and an eye roll.

"Can't a girl make new friends without there being an underlying sexual tension?" Damon quipped, causing Stefan to frown.

"I just want to make sure that you're not in over your head." Stefan finally replied after a minute of staring down his brother.

Damon winced at his brothers words. The truth was that he had gotten in over his head. Klaus was pulling the strings and god only knew what had happened the day Calvin Shuler died. Damon was sure that Klaus had to be involved in it, but he also knew that Klaus would have done everything possible to keep the investigation from ever swinging in his direction. That didn't mean he wouldn't hesitate to divert blame to someone else though. Klaus could be ruthless when he felt threatened.

"I'll be fine." Damon finally forced out, quietly. He could feel Stefan's searching gaze boring into him.

"Go talk to her." Stefan finally replied, breaking the silence. Damon raised an eyebrow at him.

"And say what? Sorry I didn't tell you that I used to screw your evil twin when I was in high school, but let's put that behind us and be friends?" Damon scoffed, taking a long drag of his drink. "That's some Hallmark card."

"Maybe if you put as much effort into apologizing as you did in coming up with your obnoxious one liners you might have an answer." Stefan replied, slumping down onto the leather couch. Damon watched his little brother check his phone before fixing his gaze on his older sibling. "She moved back home to Mystic Falls you know."

"Guilt trips don't work on me." Damon quipped, halfheartedly. Stefan shrugged.

"Oh I would say it's working pretty good from what I can see."

"When did you get so annoyingly optimistic?" Damon asked, frowning.

"It's a good way to live. You should try it sometime." Stefan replied, smirking. "I'll even show you how to create your own brand of hero hair."

Damon let out a strangled chuckle of surprise at his brother's remark. Just the idea of using that much gel made Damon want to cringe, but he did have to admit the idea of trading in his villain card was oddly pleasing.

"You know, it's so strange to think about, but you always thought Katherine was your soul mate right?" He asked, gaining a scowl from Damon.

"Please don't start with the shrink shit again."

"Just hear me out." Stefan said gesturing to Damon to calm down. "What if she was your soul mate... well part of your soul mate... you just picked the wrong one."

"You're babbling Stef. Get to the point."

"What of Elena is your actual soul mate." He rushed on when Damon opened his mouth to retort. "What if you were drawn to Katherine because she was the twin sister to your soul mate, but you just didn't know it yet. Like the wires got crossed somewhere along the line."

"I think you've been reading too many romance novels lately."

"And I think you owe it to yourself to find out if I'm right or not." Stefan shot back.

"Look I'll go to Mystic Falls and talk to Elena. But, I'm not doing this for you and Blondie." He commented.

"Good." Stefan answered. "Cause if you were, then everything I just said means absolutely nothing."

"It will still mean absolutely nothing when I get back. I will just have proof that you were wrong." Damon replied, grabbing his keys from the side table and stalking out the front door. Stefan sighed and reached for the decanter and a clean glass. He sure hoped he was right or Damon was going to have a lot of fun making his life miserable.

 **...X...**

Elena stared blankly at the porch ceiling as the swing slowly moved back and forth. Jenna had already been out to check on her. Elena knew that her aunt was concerned, but Jenna was in just as much trouble as Caroline, or anyone else that knew the truth and kept it from her. Like Damon, but thinking about him hurt more than anyone else. He had seen the resemblance, had known Katherine intimately, and said nothing.

She closed her eyes, breathing slowly, trying to think about other things. She heard a car pull up on the street, it's engine purring softly before going silent. The sound of a car door closing, caused her to look out from her hiding place. Damon was waltzing up to the house, hands in his pockets, eyes taking in the sight of the neighborhood as he walked. Elena suddenly felt cold, and rubbed furiously at the goose bumps that had risen on her arms.

Halfway up the walk, Damon noticed her staring at him and stopped in his tracks. He seemed uncomfortable. His typical self assured air had disappeared, making him look younger than she had ever believed he could. Damon always seemed larger than life to her, older and wiser and full of experience. This Damon just looked like a normal guy. He gave her a weak smile and finished the climb up onto the porch of the Gilbert farmhouse.

"Hi." He said, watching her intently.

"Hi." Elena responded, her voice shaking slightly. She wasn't sure if it was due to anger or uncertainty, but probably a mixture of both.

"Do you mind if I sit?" Damon asked, gesturing to the open spot on the swing. Elena looked from Damon, to the swing and back, before finally nodding and sliding over to accommodate him. They sat in awkward silence for what seemed like eternity before Damon finally spoke up again. "I'm not really sure where to start." He confided.

"Why don't you start at the beginning and explain to me why you led me on." She replied, a little more bitterly than she had meant to. Damon winced and then nodded.

"Katherine and I have a pretty intense history, as I'm sure you've gathered. She had me wrapped around her little finger when we were younger. It... wasn't the healthiest relationship." He answered slowly. "When my parents died, I had to take care of Stefan. He was only 17 when it happened, and he needed me. Katherine didn't want the responsibility that came with my new situation so she left. Almost destroyed me when she did. I don't have any idea what would have become of Stefan and I if it hadn't been for Ric."

"I didn't realize you had been through so much." Elena replied, unconsciously reaching for his hand in empathy. "Jeremy and I at least had Jenna when our..." she stopped for a minute trying to find the right word, "parents... died." She finally answered. Damon nodded slowly.

"When I saw your article in the Whitmore newsletter, I was genuinely interested in who you were. You're a good writer, Elena." Damon swallowed hard. "It wasn't until I saw your online profile that I realized you had to have some kind of connection with Katherine. I thought you WERE Katherine for a minute, until I read your bio." He turned to look at her. "But the more we talked, and the more I learned about you, I started to understand how incredibly different you both are."

"I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment to you." Elena started before Damon fixed her with an incredulous look.

"How could you, Elena Gilbert, ever think you were a disappointment?" He asked, taking her hand in his. "Why do you think I was so afraid to tell you about Katherine until I was 100% sure what your connection to her was? I was afraid of losing you, of you looking at me like you did that night when you walked out of the party." He sighed. "Like I was the worst scum on the planet."

"You're not scum." Elena whispered, watching hope flood his gaze. "It was just overwhelming. I didn't know what I was supposed to think."

"It's a lot to process that's for sure." Damon answered, rubbing his chin. "But one thing I do know is that Katherine Pierce is very good at bending the truth to serve her own purposes."

"What do you mean by that?" Elena asked, confused.

"When Katherine is bothered by something, she typically twists the truth to make herself feel better. For instance, telling you that you were nothing to me? She's jealous of our bond and wanted to make me suffer. It was just a bonus that she hurt you in the process too." Damon answered. Elena's eyes searched his.

"What do I mean to you?" She asked cautiously. Damon sucked in a breath. She knew she had him in a corner.

"I value your friendship." He responded.

"That's a load of bull." Elena spat, causing Damon's eyes to widen. "You're lying to me again. There is one thing on this planet that I hate more than anything, and that is being lied to."

"I can't let myself think about what you mean to me. You don't understand. I can't let you get caught up in all of this. If anything happened to you I don't know what I would do." Damon explained.

"It's Klaus isn't it?" She asked, her voice softening.

"How did you...?" Damon answered, his voice trailing off with the unfinished question.

"I may not have expected the whole evil twin thing, but I'm not as oblivious to everything as you might want to believe. I don't trust that man. He's been trying awfully hard to be nice to Caroline." Elena explained. "When Katherine showed up, I knew there was some kind of plan. Why else would he work so hard for us to be there? Buying us expensive dresses that we couldn't resist wearing just ensured we would be there for his nasty plot to thicken."

"I think Klaus had something to do with Caroline's Uncle's untimely death." Damon added. "And I think he knows that I'm suspicious of him."

"I think he did something too. I'm worried about Caroline and what she's gotten herself into." Elena remarked in agreement. "If you'll let me, I want to help you prove it."

"As long as I get to be Watson. He's way cooler than Sherlock." Damon responded.

"What? Robert Downey Jr. was amazing as Sherlock. Jude Law couldn't lay a finger on him."

"Possibly, but Benedict Cumberbatch would be completely helpless without Martin Freeman." Damon shot back. Elena rolled her eyes.

"Touche. Fine you can be Watson." She answered.

"I'm glad you're not mad at me anymore." He stated, smiling mischievously at her. She shook her head.

"Oh I'm still mad at you, but that can wait. Right now we have more important things to deal with than my parental status and how much of a complete ass you are." Elena explained. "Now, let's figure out the plan."


End file.
